Breath Of Life
by lostinthefantasy
Summary: Ezra is a new professor at Hollis, working with Byron Montgomery on a joint class. When invited over for dinner, he meets Byron's daughter, Aria. There's an instant connection, but will there be too many obstacles between them keeping them apart? Ezria.
1. A Little Touch Of Heavenly Life

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Pretty Little Liars or the characters, although I wish I owned Ian Harding. Please enjoy.**

**Chapter 1**

Ezra smiled to himself as he walked down the hallways of Hollis College, taking another sip from his coffee.

The day was September first; the first day of the new school year. It was also Ezra's first day of his first teaching job, and it was going great. He was teaching an English Literature course, and throughout the day, his students had been ready and excited to start the school year and had been very interested in the lessons he planned on teaching.

He was also starting on a fresh slate this year. He was single and definitely okay with it at the moment. His past girlfriend, Jackie Molina and he had broken up eight months ago after a failed relationship due to lack of common interests and communication, and there hadn't been a new girl in his life since then. Ezra shook his head at the memory, wondering how he spent almost a year with her. He could barely stand being in the same room with her now.

Ezra rounded the corner of the hallway that lead to his office, and he suddenly bumped into a man in the hallway.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." He said quickly, looking up at person in front of him.

The older man smiled at him, shaking his head. "Don't be, it's my fault. I was busy reading an essay rather than watching where I was going. _I'm_ sorry."

Ezra laughed. "Busy first day?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, I've got to get all my assignments straightened out. My family just moved back from Iceland yesterday, so it's been a pretty hectic day." He held out his hand. "I'm Byron Montgomery, by the way."

Ezra reached out to shake his hand. "Ezra Fitz. I'm the new English professor."

Byron smiled. "Ah, well it looks like we're going to be working closely this year! I teach the Art and History class, and the Dean is making a joint course between our classes."

"Oh, well I'm glad I bumped into you and got to introduce myself then." Ezra said.

"Likewise." Byron replied. "Look, if you're not doing anything this afternoon, you should come over to my place so we can discuss what we want to do with the course. You could stay for dinner if you'd like."

Ezra nodded. He had only been in his apartment for two weeks now, and he was currently living off of take out. A home cooked meal would be nice. "Yeah, that would actually be great."

"Good." Bryon ripped out a piece of paper from one of the binders in his hand, writing down his address and giving it to Ezra. "I'll see you around… say, four?"

Ezra smiled. "I'll be there."

Byron nodded, continuing down the hall. "See you then."

Ezra let out a deep breath, before walking into his office. He gathered up all of his papers into the leather briefcase he had, before throwing the strap over his shoulder and tossing his coffee cup in the trash. Shutting off the lights, he closed the door behind him, locking it and putting the keys back into his pocket.

Glancing down at his watch, he saw he had about thirty minutes until he needed to be at the Montgomery house, so he decided to go home and drop off his things.

Exiting the school building, he breathed in the fresh air, thanking the stars for making his first day go easy on him.

xxx

Ezra knocked on the front door of the grand house, running his hands down the front of his deep blue, button down shirt. He had changed into that and a pair of dark washed jeans when he had arrived home, allowing him to get out of his work clothes.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a middle aged woman, with long, straight brown hair, dressed in a black blouse with jeans. She smiled brightly at him.

"Hi, you must be Ezra!" She greeted him, reaching out her hand. "I'm Ella, Byron's wife."

Ezra accepted her handshake, smiling back. "It's nice to meet you, Ella."

She stepped aside, ushering him in with her hands. Ezra stepped through the doorway, looking around the place quickly.

Even though there were still cardboard boxes everywhere, the place had a very antique-like feel to it. There was a living room to his right, decked with a reddish leather couch and coffee table, and a wall lined with bookshelves with most of the books already unloaded onto them. The kitchen was to his left, which was formal and expensive looking with the black marble counters. A stairway lay ahead of him, leading to the upstairs of the house where he presumed the bedrooms were.

"You have a lovely house." He told Ella.

"Thank you." She smiled, guiding him into the living room. "Byron should be home soon; he had to go pick up our son, Mike, from his lacrosse tryouts."

Ezra nodded. "Would I have him for a student this year?"

Ella laughed. "No, he's still a sophomore in high school." She shook his head. "He's growing up so fast. It's killing me."

Ezra chuckled. "Your child growing up is one of the most amazing, but hardest things to watch."

He sat down on the couch, crossing his fingers together. Ella sat across from him in a single seated chair.

"Do you have kids?" Ella asked, looking at him curiously.

He shook his head quickly. "No. I just graduated from college; it's my first year teaching."

She nodded, chuckling. "I was going to say; you're… very young."

Ezra snorted, grinning. "Thank you?"

Ella rolled her eyes, but smiled and stood up. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like any, Ezra?"

Nodding, he leaned back against the back of the couch. "That would be wonderful, thanks."

She walked into the kitchen, leaving Ezra alone in the living room. He sighed, standing up and moving to look at the books that lined the bookshelf. He ran his finger along the binds of the books, reading their titles.

Lots of them were on history and physics, with a few good books that Ezra knew. None of them were any of the classics though, and he shook his head in disappointment.

The front door opened behind him, and he turned around, expecting to see Byron getting home with his son. He was mistaken.

Doing a small double take, Ezra watched as a brown haired beauty walking through the door. He inhaled a quick breath as he took in her features; the long and curly, chestnut locks falling down her back that almost reached her waist, her heart shaped face with full, pinkish lips, and the clothes she was wearing that would definitely make her stand out in a crowd.

She was dressed in a white tee-shirt with red owls printed on it, and a black skirt over it that went up to her waist. She was wearing dark blue heels and carried a mini silver backpack that was draped over one of her shoulders. Large rings covered most of her fingers, and she wore lots of necklaces that fell down her chest, and her ears were decked with large, silver hoops.

She walked further into the room, not noticing him at first. As she got closer and dropped her bag beside the chair Ella had been sitting in earlier, he realized how absolutely tiny she was. Her head would probably barely pass his shoulders, and that was with the three inched heels she was wearing.

Finally, she lifted her head and her gaze looked with his.

Ezra's breath caught in his throat as he got lost in the big brown eyes that stared back at him. He watched as her lips parted slightly, and her eyes trailed down his body for a moment, before snapping back up to his.

A small smirk crossed his face at the slight blush that colored her cheeks. She smiled back at him, biting softly on her lip.

Ezra continued to watch her, unable to pull his eyes away. She was… beautiful. Delicate. Exquisite. Breathtaking. All of the above.

He realized that they had been standing there for a few minutes without saying anything, and he finally found his nerve to speak.

He cleared his throat, trying to figure out quickly what to say. _Stay simple._ "Hi."

Mentally slapping himself, he watched as her smile grew larger, exposing a perfect set of pearly white teeth. "Hi." She responded.

He felt his stomach twist at the sound of her voice, and he briefly wondered why this girl he had known for not even ten minutes had that type of effect on him by saying a single word.

One hand ran threw his hair while the other stuffed itself in his pocket. "Uh, I'm Ezra."

Her smile didn't falter from her face, and she twisted her fingers together in front of her. "I'm Aria."

_Even her name is beautiful. _Ezra thought to himself.

Aria cleared her throat gently, taking a small step closer to him. "So," She began. "Are you here to look at my family's collection of books, or was there something else?" She smirked at him.

He laughed slightly. "Well, this _is_ a wonderful library." His hand gestured to the shelves behind him.

Aria snorted, raising her eyebrows in question. "My collection is better."

Taking a step closer, Ezra tilted his head to her. "Oh really? What does it include?"

"You can't beat the classics." She told him. "Mine's full of them."

Ezra looked at her, shocked that she was interesting in the classics. "Ah, so you're more into books like _It Happened One Night_."

Aria laughed, nodding. "That's one of my favorites."

He grinned. "Mine, too."

The two stared at each other for a moment, before the silence was interrupted by Ella walking back into the room with a tray in her hands, holding cups of tea. She smiled.

"Hey, sweetie." She greeted Aria, setting the tray down onto the counter.

"Hi, mom."

Ella straightened up again, looking between the two of them. "I see you've met Ezra. He's going to be working on a joint class with your father this year. He's the new English teacher at Hollis." She told her, smiling over at Ezra.

The smile faltered slightly from Aria's face, but she quickly covered it up before Ella noticed. Ezra caught it though, as he still had barely been able to tear his eyes from her.

Her eyes moved up to meet his again. "You're a teacher?"

"It's my first year."

Aria swallowed, nodding softly before looking away. He looked at her, confused.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the front door opening again. Byron walked into the house, followed by a young teenager who was dressed in sports attire and whose short, blond hair was dripping in sweat.

"Hey, Mike." Ella called. "How'd tryouts go?"

The two of them walked into the room, and Byron smiled over at Ezra, who returned the look.

"Good." Mike told her. "I made the team."

Ella smiled largely at him. "Congratulations!"

He shook his head at her, but a small smile touched his lips. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Good; you reek." Aria told him, scrunching up her nose.

Mike smirked, holding out his arms and walking towards her. Aria backed up, holding up her hand in front of him.

"Do _not_ touch me." She told him sternly.

He laughed, lowering his arms and turning to head up the stairs. "Love you too, sister dearest." He called over his shoulder.

Byron laughed at the exchange, and Ezra hid the smirk on his face behind his hand.

Ella shook her head. "I'm going to go work on unpacking a bit more." She declared, leaving the room and walking up the stairs.

Byron turned to Ezra. "I'm glad you could make it."

He nodded in agreement. "Of course."

Aria shifted to stand up straighter, and Byron turned to look at her. "How was school, sweetheart?"

She stared at him for a few moments with no expression on her face, and Byron sighed. Ezra watched the two of them, feeling the tense vibes coming off of the situation. He looked at Aria, whose jaw was locked in what seemed to be held back anger.

"Fine." She said sharply, before turning and leaving the room, following her mother upstairs.

Byron shook his head, before looking at Ezra apologetically. "Sorry." He said softly.

Ezra shook his head. "It's okay."

"Aria and I, we just… haven't been seeing eye to eye lately." He explained.

Nodding, Ezra sat back onto the couch. "I'm sure it will blow over eventually." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Byron nodded, his eyes seeming far away. "Hopefully."

He shook himself out of it, before changing the subject. "Shall we get started?"

"Sure."

xxx

Ella walked into the living room almost two hours later, finding Byron and Ezra sitting on the couch leaning over papers that rested on the coffee table. The two had been working hard to get their class put together, and almost had it completely planned out. They looked up at her as she entered.

"Byron, could you help me with dinner, please?" She asked.

He nodded and stood up, before turning to look at Ezra. "Feel free to make yourself at home however you'd like."

Ezra smiled in thanks, standing up as well. "Actually, I think I'm going to go get some air and get a relief from all that paper work."

Byron laughed. "That sounds nice. We'll call you in when the foods ready."

Ezra nodded, watching them walk into the kitchen before walking over to the front door and stepping outside. After closing the door behind him, he moved to lean against the railing of the porch, looking around the front yard. It wasn't big, and was mostly covered in trees until it reached the neighborhood road. As he looked on, he saw a bench sitting against the trees a bit in the distance to his right, and noticed someone sitting on it. He squinted further to see who it was, and realized it was Aria.

He smiled slightly, before pushing off the railing and walking down the steps. He made his way over to the bench, stopping a few feet in front of her. She had her head resting in her hand and her elbow on her thigh, and was leaning over, looking at a white piece of paper in her other hand. Her head snapped up when she noticed his presence.

She quickly folded the piece of paper in half, hiding its content from him and smiled softly at him. "Hey."

"Hey." He replied. "You mind if I sit?"

"Yes." She said, before shaking her head. "I mean no. Wait, I mean –" She stopped, taking a deep breath and pressed her hand to her forehead, looking down at the ground. "Yes, you can sit."

Ezra laughed lightly, sitting down next to her. He leaned back, looking her way.

"Sorry, I'm a bit out of it today." She told him. "I'll blame it on the jet lag."

He grinned, chuckling softly. "I heard you just got back from Iceland."

She nodded. "Yeah, I was there for a year."

"I spent some time In Reykjavik, before I went to Amsterdam. It's a great city." He added.

Aria looked up at him, licking her bottom lip. "So, you're teaching at Hollis?"

He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. I grew up in Rosewood before I moved to New York. My brother had moved back here, and he lives a little while out of town. He found out they were looking for a new English teacher and knew I majored in it, so he proposed the idea to me. I couldn't pass it up. It's my first teaching job."

She smiled softly at him. "Yeah, I think I'd like to teach."

He looked at her in shock. "What's your major?"

Aria frowned slightly, leaning back against the bench. "Well, I'm not really in college yet, but I'm leaning towards English."

Ezra furrowed his brow. "You're not?"

She shook his head. "No… I'm sixteen." She laughed nervously, looking up at him slowly and biting her lip.

Ezra's eyes widened a bit by her statement. Never before had he met a sixteen year old girl who was interested in the classics, rather than all the vampire bullshit they were obsessing over these days, or caught his eye as much as she did.

He snorted, shaking his head. "You don't seem like your sixteen."

Aria laughed. "My mom thinks I'm an old soul that was born into a teenager's body due to the amount of writing I do."

Ezra lifted his eyebrows. "You write?"

"Yeah, but so far it's mostly personal; just for me."

"I'm impressed." He replied.

She gave him a confused look, still smiling. "Why?"

Ezra unconsciously moved a bit closer to her, leaving only a few inches between them on the small bench. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Well, I tried writing. I didn't get very far." He smirked up at her as she giggled. "You're lucky. If you're doing it for yourself, it's pure passion."

Aria smiled as a small blush tinted her cheeks, and she looked down at her hands, playing with the edges of the piece of paper.

"What's that?" Ezra asked curiously.

She frowned, running her hand along the paper and squirming a bit in her seat.

"Sorry." Ezra murmured. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Aria shook her head quickly, still looking down. "No, it's fine. You'll probably see them all around town, anyways." She whispered.

She slowly opened up the piece of paper, smoothing her hand across it to try and straighten it out again. Afterwards, she turned to Ezra, holding out the piece of paper for him.

He sat back and reached for it, taking it gently from her. Looking down, he read the words silently to himself.

**MISSING**

**Alison Dilaurentis**

**Would now be 16**

There was contact information at the bottom of the page and a picture of a pretty and young girl in the center of it. Ezra looked over at Aria, who looked at the paper solemnly.

"Was she your friend?" He whispered.

Aria nodded. "We were having a sleepover at another one of our friend's house last summer, and when the rest of us woke up, she was gone. Yesterday was the one year anniversary of her disappearance." She shook her head quickly in annoyance. "I hate these stupid flyers. Everyone's acting like it's a holiday, or a celebration or something. It's pathetic."

Ezra looked at her sadly, handing the paper back to her. "I'm sorry."

Taking the paper from him, Aria smiled softly. "It's okay. She'd probably love all the attention she's getting. I just miss her."

Looking at her lost expression, Ezra hesitantly reached out, placing his hand on top of hers. The moment they made contact, a gasp escaped from both of their mouths. It felt like electric sparks were shooting through their hands and spreading throughout their entire bodies at the single touch.

Aria looked up at Ezra quickly, looking for a sign of explanation. She was greeted with a shocked expression on his face that matched hers, and he looked back at her with the same curiosity.

He cleared his throat softly, trying to break the spell that had surrounded both of them. "Everything's going to get better, Aria." He whispered.

Her lips parted, and she shook her head slightly. "If anything, it's all just going to get worse now that we're back in Rosewood. There are too many bad memories here."

Ezra looked at her in confusion and opened his mouth to question her, but he was cut off by someone calling his name.

"Ezra?" Ella called out, looking around the yard. He and Aria quickly pulled their hands apart, just as she spotted the two of them on the bench and smiled.

"Oh, there you are Aria. Come on in you two, dinner's ready."

Both of them stood up and walked the distance to the front porch, and followed Ella inside. As they stepped through the doorway, Aria shot Ezra a quick glance, telling him to drop their conversation for now.

He nodded shortly, confirming that he understood her before following her into the kitchen.

xxx

The group of five sat at the dinner table, finishing up their meal.

Byron had been sitting at the end of one table, Ella at the other. Aria and Mike sat next to each other on one side, and Ezra sat across from Aria on the other.

As conversation continued throughout the meal, the two kept giving each other small glances. Aria would always duck her head, trying to hide her smile, and Ezra grinned softly at her before entering the conversation again.

Conversation mainly surrounded what life was like in New York for Ezra and Iceland for the Montgomery's. Byron and Ezra talked a bit more about how their class would go, and Mike and Aria shared small details about how their first day of school went.

Mike reached across the table for his fourth piece of chicken; he had already eaten almost half of the plate. Aria slapped his hand, making for him to slap her arm and her hitting his back again.

"Pig." She muttered.

"Drama queen." He shot back.

"Okay, children, settle down." Ella said, shaking her head.

Mike rolled his eyes, and Aria looked up at Ezra who smirked at her. She smiled back, before pushing back from the table and started to clear the plates.

"I'll do the dishes." She announced.

Ezra stood up as well, grabbing his plate. "I'll help."

Ella shook her head at him. "That's not necessary, Ezra. You're our guest –"

"And you invited me into your house and served me a lovely meal. It's the least I could do." He interrupted, smiled at her.

Ella smiled back, and shrugged. "If you insist, I'm not complaining."

The rest of them stood up, and Mike excused himself to go up to his room while Byron and Ella went into the living room, leaving Ezra and Aria to clear the table.

They brought the plates over to the sink and settled them down on the side. Aria turned to him, smiling slightly. She picked up two plates and handed one to Ezra, turning on the water. They both started cleaning off the dishes, and Aria watched him in amusement at how slow he was at it.

"Have you ever washed a plate in your life?" She asked sarcastically.

Ezra smirked over at her. "Are you downing my cleaning skills?"

She laughed, nodding. "Yes; you're terrible at it."

He put his hand over his chest, mocking fake offense. "I'm crushed."

Aria shook her head, putting her plate down and taking his from his hands, elbowing him slightly in the ribs. Ezra brought his hand up, covering her target area, pretending to be hurt from her hit. Aria giggled, splashing his arm with soapy water. "You're ridiculous."

Ezra laughed. "What's with all the insults right now?"

She pushed out her bottom lip, raising a soapy hand to his cheek, patting it softly. "Aw, you poor thing."

He backed away from her wet hand, dipping his hands in the water before grabbing her face between his hands, rubbing them across her cheeks. Aria squealed, trying to get away from him, but ended up backing herself against the kitchen counter and trapping herself further. Ezra laughed, stepping closer to her, keeping his hands on her face.

She leaned back against the counter, giggling and trying to escape from his reach. He leaned over her, affectively pressing his body up against hers, causing her to stop struggling and look up at him.

Ezra gazed down at her as she straightened up, leaving only centimeters between their chests. She stared back at him through her thick, dark eyelashes, and Ezra felt himself getting lost in her chocolate orbs again. He gently brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away some of the water that was beginning to run down her skin.

He couldn't deny his attraction for her. She was beautiful, smart, and had great taste. If there was anyone he could have pictured himself dating, it was someone like her.

But in the back of his mind, he knew nothing could happen between them. There was a seven year age gap between them, and her parents would most likely murder him if anything happened. Even with this in mind though, he desperately wanted to know more about her, and couldn't seem to tear himself away from her at the moment.

Aria bit her lip, lowering her eyes to his lips quickly before snapping back up to his eyes. Ezra leaned down, his forehead brushing against hers. She slowly closed her eyes, tilting her head up slightly.

Laughter suddenly floated into the room from the living area, and they both jumped apart, remembering where they were. Aria's cheeks filled with scarlet as she looked up at Ezra nervously, before lowering her gaze. Ezra cleared his throat, reaching over to grab another plate and began to scrub it clean again. Aria turned around, taking a towel from the hanger on the side wall and wiped off her face before handing it to him. He grinned at her, accepting her offer and wiped off his cheek.

Aria smiled back, relieved to see he wasn't upset with her. He nudged her gently again, causing her to giggle. "I'll splash you again." She warned.

"Bring it, shorty." Ezra smirked.

The pair heard laughter behind them, and turned to see Byron standing against the doorframe of the kitchen. "Well I see you two are off to a good start."

Ezra grinned, taking the plate from Aria and drying it with a towel.

"You should come over again, Ezra. This was fun." Byron said, pushing in the chairs around the dining table.

"I'll definitely take you up on that offer." He confirmed, glancing over at Aria quickly.

Aria smiled back at Ezra, but ignored her father. Ezra watched as he sighed, before taking a deep breath.

"Aria, I need to talk to you later tonight, okay?" He spoke to her back.

She handed the last plate to Ezra, turning to her father. "No need, dad. Nothing's changed. Don't worry." She told him in a matter a fact voice, dropping the subject before turning back around to drain the sink.

Byron sighed and shook his head, running his hand along his face as he left the room.

Ezra watched as Aria walked over to the center counter in the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the stools. He went over to sit next to her, seeing a cell phone sitting on the table.

"Is that yours?" He asked her.

She nodded; looking at him confused as he picked up the phone and began to press the keys on it. "What are you doing?"

He finished typing and handed the cell phone back to her, and she looked down at the screen, seeing he had added his contact into the data. She looked up at him questioningly.

"If you ever want to talk about anything, you have my number." He whispered to her.

She smiled, typing quickly on her phone before shutting it and looking back at him. Ezra felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he took it out, seeing he had a text from an unknown number. He opened it up, finding a simple smiley face in the message.

"Now you have mine." She told him.

Ezra chuckled and nodded, before glancing down at his watch. "It's getting late; I should probably get going." He told her, standing up.

She followed suit after him, and walked along his side to the living room. Ella and Byron looked up from their seats on the couch.

"It has been a wonderful evening, but it's time for me to head home." He told them. They both stood and walked over. Byron reached out to shake his hand, telling him he would talk to him at Hollis the next day.

"It was a pleasure having you here, Ezra. You're always welcome to come back." Ella offered as he walked to the door.

"Thank you. I'll see you guys later." He said, stepping outside into the chilly night.

Byron and Ella called their goodbyes, and Ezra looked back at Aria who remained in the doorway. She gave him a bright smile and a small wave. He returned it, lifting his eyebrows and gesturing to the phone in his hand, reminding her that she could contact him whenever she needed to.

She nodded her head, and laughed silently, before watching him walk to his car.

Before he got in though, bright flashing lights coming from down the street caught his eye. He squinted, trying to see what was going on. There were police cars and an ambulance surrounding a white house which was blocked off by crime scene tape. People were standing watch, surrounding the area.

Aria noticed his watchful stare and followed his gaze, seeing what he was. A gasp escaped her lips and her stomach rolled. "Oh my God."

Ella looked up at her in confusion. "What's wrong, Aria?"

She shook her head in disbelief before managing to choke out, "It's Ali's house."

"What?"

Aria didn't answer. Instead, she jumped down the stairs of her porch and took off in a sprint towards the scene.

Ezra turned to watch her in confusion, and saw Ella come outside and look at the house in shock, before fear crossed her face. "Aria, stop!" She called to her daughter.

She ignored her and continued to run to the house, hope and fear battling to gain control of her emotions inside of her. _Is she back?_

Ella began to jog after her daughter, and Ezra shut the door of his car, following the two of them. As they got closer, he could see Aria trying to make her way through the crowd of people to a girl standing in front of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks shortly after, and Ezra looked up to see why.

His lips parted in shock as he watched two police officers rolling a black body bag on a stretcher into the back of the ambulance. The girl standing in front of the house turned to look at Aria in disbelief with tears filling her eyes.

Aria shook her head, before looking to her left. She walked over to a taller brunette girl who she talked to for a minute. Another girl with blond hair joined them a few moments later, and they all looked onto the scene together.

Ezra watched as tears filled Aria's eyes and her lips parted, before her gaze moved across the sea of people and met his. When their eyes locked and he saw the pain in hers, he immediately knew who was in the back of that ambulance.

Alison Dilaurentis.

xxx

Ezra walked into the church, looking around at the few people that had already taken their seats. Most of the friends and family were still gathered outside, greeting each other in shared sadness. Byron and Ella had invited him to come to the funeral, seeing as how he had been there when Ali's body was found. He originally wasn't planning on coming because he felt like he would be intruding on a personal event, but he wanted to see Aria and see how she was doing.

Walking to the side of the church, Ezra began to climb the staircase. When he got to the turn, he found Aria standing in front of a large, floor to ceiling window, where he had spotted her through when he first arrived. He smoothed out the front of his suit, before taking a step closer to her.

"Hey." He whispered.

Aria jumped slightly, not realizing he had been there. She turned to look at him, smiling meekly. "Hey."

He noticed the wetness that rimmed her eyes and felt his chest squeeze slightly. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, blinking her eyes to clear them. "Fine, I guess."

Ezra took a step closer, not believing her for a second. "You sure?"

Looking up at him, Aria breathed in a shaky breath, shaking her head quickly. Ezra opened his arms and whispered, "Come here" to her softly.

Aria stepped into his arms, burying her face into his chest. She gripped his jacket tightly between her fingers and breathed in his scent. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing one hand slowly up and down her back, while the other cupped her neck, his fingers braided slightly through her hair.

"Shhh." He murmured in her ear. "It's okay."

The two stood there for a few moments, before Aria pulled back, wiping underneath her eyes. She looked up at him apologetically, before thanking him quietly.

"I should go." She whispered.

Ezra nodded, wiping a missed tear off her cheek. "Remember, that offer to call me whenever is still open."

She smiled slightly at him, before hesitantly reaching up on her toes, touching her lips to his cheek. Pulling back, she smiled at him one last time. "I'll see you later."

Ezra watched her descend the stairs, only one thought travelling through his mind.

_I am so screwed._

**Author's Notes: Well, here's my second piece of writing! I really hope you guys enjoyed this, because I have big plans for this story! Please review and let me know your thoughts! xxx**


	2. To Get A Dream Of A Life Again

**Chapter 2**

Two weeks had passed since Ali's funeral. The town was still in shock over the discovery, but mostly only because no one ever expected something like this to happen in Rosewood. With Ali being gone for a year, almost everyone started to believe she was dead. Finding her body only confirmed their beliefs.

Besides that devastating news, Ezra was doing really well in Rosewood so far. His job had been going great, and all of his students really seemed to honestly like him as their teacher. The joint class he had with Byron was running smoothly, and once they started teaching it, covering it flew by easily.

Ezra had been spending a lot of time with the Montgomery's over the last two weeks. He had been over there for dinner again on Monday and spent time there in the afternoons to go over the class with Byron more. There was a relationship forming between him and each of them. Byron and him shared a friend/business relationship. When they talked about work, it was professional, but when that was over they bonded together very well.

Ella and him had a friendship that had formed almost into a brother and sister relationship. They took a lot of jabs and made sarcastic jokes with each other, but there were never any hard feelings behind them. Mike was the one relationship that grew slower than all the rest, but that was mostly because he spent as much time as he could out of the house. Ezra knew that Ella was worrying about him since he was rarely home, but she never voiced her thoughts.

Out of all his new friendships though, him and Aria were the closest. They had spent an enormous amount of time together, talking and laughing and learning more about each other. There were many common interests between the two, ranging from music type, to favorite books, to their equally stubborn and compassionate personalities.

There was an attraction and sexual tension that built between the two of them whenever they were around each other, but both of them refused to acknowledge it.

Ezra looked up from his desk in his office when he heard a knock at the door, and smiled when he saw Aria standing in the doorway. "Hey!" She greeted.

"Hey, I've been thinking about you." Ezra told her, standing up while motioning for her to come in.

Aria ignored the butterflies that filled her stomach due to his statement as she entered the room, closing the door softly behind her. Instead, she simply smiled brightly at him.

"How are things?" He asked her gently.

She shrugged. "Pretty intense and getting worse." Her eyes glanced around the room quickly before meeting his again. "Wanna give me a reason not to go home? We could do something; anything really."

Ezra looked into her eyes, feeling a little bad. "I'm sorry, I actually can't today. I've got this…" He moved his hands around in the air, trying to figure out what to say. "… thing." With that, he tried to end the conversation by gathering more papers around on his desk.

Aria looked at him, disappointed and confused. "Oh."

"It's not a thing," He tried to reassure her quickly. "It's just a… thing."

She looked at him with a completely confused expression, feeling a little hurt that he couldn't just tell her what he was doing. Ezra sighed as he looked up at her again, surrendering.

"A reading." His shoulders slumped, and he leaned back against the front of his desk. "Of a story… that I wrote." He explained.

A smile spread across Aria's face and her eyes lit up. "You're reading it, out loud?" He nodded. "Can I come?" She asked hopefully.

"You can," Ezra said slowly, shaking his head as he smiled at her. "But if it sucks, I'm going to have to hurt myself, you'd be a witness… it could get ugly."

Aria giggled. "I thought you said you didn't get far with writing."

"I didn't, which is why I didn't want to tell you I was reading some of it out loud."

She shook her head and bit her lip, leaning towards him. "You're the teacher, I'm the student, remember? Show me how it's done."

Ezra chuckled, nodding his head. "Yeah."

xxx

"Everything she'd know disappeared, drifting into the summer sky." Ezra finished, flipping the pages closed as he looked up at the audience from the stage. His eyes immediately found Aria, and he smiled. "Thank you."

The bar erupted into applause, and Aria shook her head in awe. She hooted him over the crowd, keeping her eyes on him as he moved off the podium. _Is there anything he's _not _good at? _

"He doesn't suck, huh?" A male voice commented from her left. She shook her head before turning to look at him. "You know this guy?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, he's a – friend."

"Oh, very cool." The guy replied. "Me and him go way back. We used to sleep together."

Aria choked a little, looking at him with wide eyes of disbelief. When she didn't respond, the man looked back at her, catching her expression.

"Bunk beds." He clarified quickly, holding up his hand. "College."

Aria laughed, breathing a sigh of relief. The guy got off of his stool where he sat at the bar, and walked over to her, holding out his hand. "Do you have a name?"

She stood up as well, reaching out to shake his hand. "Aria."

He nodded. "Hardy."

"What the hell are you doing here?" The two of them heard, and they turned to see Ezra with a smile on his face. Hardy laughed, and Ezra stepped forward to give him what Aria classified as a "man hug".

"Oh, I thought I'd come get some face time with the president of your fan club, apparently." Hardy told him, gesturing to Aria.

Ezra furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Aria. "You two know each other?"

"Well, not as well as you two know each other. I uh, I heard about the bunk beds." She replied, giving him a playful glance.

"We just met, but I'm glad I sat next to her; she kept kicking me so I wouldn't snore." Hardy butted in, causing Aria to giggle.

Ezra shook his head. "No, seriously. How did you know about this? Why are you in Rosewood?"

Hardy scoffed. "Well since my best friend decided not to invite me to come see him, his brother thought it would be nice to give me a call. I figured I should stop by; see how life's treated you away from the city. I'm here for a week."

Chuckling, Ezra patted Hardy's back before turning to Aria. "So, what did you think?"

"It was… beautiful." Aria told him sincerely. "I mean, that metaphor at the end…" She shook her head in disbelief, wondering why he doubted his skill in writing.

"Wait, that was a metaphor?" Hardy asked, confused. "I thought it was really about a kid who lost her balloon…"

"You also thought _Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang _was Mexican porn." Ezra informed, tilting his head to the side. Hardy nodded, confirming the fact while Aria giggled, shaking her head.

"Books aren't his thing." Ezra said to Aria. "He used to pay me in frozen burritos to write his papers."

Hardy huffed, shoving his shoulder. "You know what would be so great? If you told this same, lame story while I had a beer in my hand. I'm grabbing a waitress." He informed, walking away.

Ezra shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, stepping closer to Aria. "I didn't know he was going to be here." He told her.

Aria shrugged, smiling. "It's fine, he's got quite the personality. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time." She said teasingly.

He laughed, nodding his head before placing his hand on the small of her back. He led her over to a round, high table in the back of the bar in a cut off area that had a dart board along the back wall. Aria shivered slightly at the feel of the heat that formed where he touched her.

"Are you cold?" Ezra whispered in her ear.

Aria shook her head, embarrassed that she was caught. "Just a little bit. It's fine."

She went over to one of the chairs, and the seat of it reached her upper waist. She frowned at it, and Ezra laughed loudly when he noticed. He came up to her, slowly reaching out to put his hands on her hips. He tried to keep his breathing even as he got closer to her, and she looked up at him before placing her own hands on his shoulders.

Smirking, he lifted her small frame easily up onto the seat. "You're so damn tiny."

Aria glared at him, now at eye level with his. Ezra chuckled, brushing the hair out of her face. "Don't pout. You look like an angry kitten when you do that."

She smacked his arm, trying to repress the grin that threatened to spread across her face. Ezra caught on to her struggle though.

"Don't smile, it will give you away." He told her. Of course, that made the grin finally cross her features, and she giggled softly at him. "Oh, you slipped up." He informed her.

"You're so obnoxious." She told him, laughing at his expression.

He flashed a boyish smile at her. "You love it."

Aria bit her lip, looking down at his for a moment. _Oh, do I ever._ Her eyes down casted to his hands that rested on her knees; his thumbs tracing light circles on the skin there. She slowly placed her fingers over his, looking back up at him and rolled her eyes at his smirk.

"So, how about a game of darts?" Hardy's voice interrupted them, and their heads lifted in his direction. Aria pulled her hands back from his, and Ezra took a step back.

Coming up to the table, Hardy set a bottle of scotch and three glasses onto the table. "And," He continued, pouring the liquid into each of the cups. "We can celebrate that wonderful story that was just performed for us by the, oh so talented, Ezra Fitz."

He handed a glass to Ezra and attempted to give one to Aria.

She cleared her throat and muttered, "Sorry, I don't drink."

Ezra snorted with laughter, and Hardy shot him a confused look. "She means she _can't_ drink, Hardy. She's not of legal age." He smirked.

Hardy lifted his eyebrows as his eyes widened, and he looked Aria up and down once. "You sure look like you're of legal age."

Aria blushed scarlet and giggled nervously while Ezra reached out to slap Hardy across the back of the head. He put his hands up as if it was an obvious reaction, and Ezra shook his head.

Hardy lifted the glass in her direction again. "It can be our little secret."

Aria sighed, glancing at Ezra quickly before back at the glass, reaching out her hand and taking it. She brought it to her lips and took a sip, grimacing slightly at the taste. The boys chuckled.

"Okay, I'm up!" Hardy announced, grabbing the darts and starting his throws.

xxx

The three played a couple of games as the hour progressed. Ezra made sure to watch Aria's alcohol intake; the last thing he needed was to send her home to her parents drunk.

"So I hook up with her in the library, but you can't get serious in the sociology stacks, right?" Hardy tells Aria, continuing to tell her a story of one of his many hook ups from college. "So I take her back to my dorm room."

Ezra shook his head, a wide smile on his face. "I can't believe you're telling this story." He takes his next turn at throwing one of the darts, receiving a disappointing result from the distraction.

"Let him finish, I wanna hear!" Aria says to him.

Hardy holds up his hands defensively. "She wants to hear!" He turns back to Aria. "So, I get her back. He's sound asleep, of course. I get her shirt off, you know, things are happening, life is good – and then this geek, right here," He pushes his finger accusingly into Ezra's chest. "Starts laughing! In his sleep!"

Ezra nods, his cheeks tinted a slight pink.

"And he's done this before," Hardy informs. "But this chick, she does not believe that he is asleep!"

"Which I was." Ezra clarifies to Aria, turning to look at her shocked face. Her mouth was hanging open is a large grin.

"You laugh in your sleep?" She asks in disbelief. He nods, humming his confirmation.

She smiles sheepishly. "That's cute."

Hardy smirked, shaking his head and walking past Ezra to retrieve the darts from the board. Ezra grinned at the blush that spread quickly across her face when she realized what she had said. "It's better than snoring!" She told them, trying to make up for her slip.

Chuckling softly, Hardy walked over to Aria to hand her the darts. "Your turn."

Before she could reply, her phone vibrated on the table next to her. Aria looked down at it, reading the message to herself. Ezra watched carefully as her face fell slightly as she read the text, and she looked back up at Hardy and shook her head. "Take it for me. I'm going to go get some water."

She hopped down from the chair and left the area, heading over to the bar.

Ezra frowned, wondering if the text message had anything to do with her father. He knew that there was a lot of tension between the two of them, and while he hadn't asked her what caused it yet, he knew that it was something big that had deeply upset Aria.

Hardy turned to look at Ezra, laughing and smirking largely at him. "Dude, you are so screwed."

Ezra furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"Look man, I get it. She's cute, she's smart. And she's hot. Have you banged her yet?"

Choking on his drink, Ezra glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Hardy huffed. "You and Aria!"

"We're not together." Ezra said, shaking his head.

"Seriously? You two have been having eye sex and undressing each other all night." Hardy told him, chuckling again.

Ezra shook his head, leaning back against the wall. "She's underage, man."

"Dude, who cares if she's not old enough to drink yet? It's not that bad."

Sighing, Ezra looked up at him. "She's seventeen. And the daughter of my business partner."

Hardy's eyes widened at the information. "Seventeen?" Ezra nodded. "Damn, but she's so…" He trailed off at the glare he received and grinned again. "I still think you should go for it."

Ezra sighed. "I can't…"

"Look, just ask her out on a date or something. I know you're attracted to her, whether you want to admit it to yourself or not."

Ezra opened his mouth to reply but shut it again when Aria walked back into the area. "Okay, how about this: loser of the next game buys fries?" She asked, looking between the two of them.

Hardy nodded, holding out his fist. "Give it up." Aria pumped his hand. "I'm up first."

He started throwing his darts while Ezra walked over to where Aria was leaning against the table. He gently reached up to brush the hair out of her face. "You okay?"

Aria looked up at him and shrugged.

"Wanna talk about it?" He murmured.

She glanced over at Hardy quickly, straightening up. "Later. It's my turn."

xxx

Another hour later, Aria and Ezra stood in the parking lot, waving to Hardy as he drove off. He honked at them before pulling out into the street.

Aria leaned against her car, looking up at Ezra and smiled. "Thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun."

"I'm glad." He told her, smiling back. He noticed her sigh and her face fall. "I don't want to go home."

Ezra nodded, stepping closer to her. He brought his hands up to either of her arms, rubbing up and down her biceps slowly. "Look, I know it's none of my business, but if you want to talk about what's going on between you and your father, I want you to know you can always come to me about it."

Aria nodded. "I know." She took a deep breath, looking up at him as her eyes began to fill with tears. "But you work with him. I don't want to make it awkward or difficult for you."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about me. All I care about is that you're alright." He lifted one of his hands to her cheek, wiping away a stray tear that slipped from her eye gently with his thumb.

Aria sighed, looking down at the ground again. "About a year ago, I was walking home with Alison from school. It was before she disappeared. We had stopped to get ice cream, and there was a girl that was following us that Alison didn't like. So, we turned down a different road to avoid her, and Alison saw my dad's car. He was… cheating on my mom."

Ezra's eyes widened at the information, and he reached out to take her hand in his. He thought back to his time spent with Aria's parents. They always seemed so happy; he wouldn't have ever suspected that they went through something like that.

"He knew I had caught him, and he told me not to tell my mom about it. He said it would destroy our family if she found out, and I didn't want to do that. She doesn't know it happened. But the woman he had the affair with works with him now. It's completely obvious that she's still interested in my dad. And she's been going to my mom's art studio. I told her to stay away from us, but she's not listening to me."

Aria shook her head, sniffling. "I don't know what to do."

Ezra absorbed the information, slowly wrapping his arms around Aria's waist. She reached up to wrap her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on his chest, taking in deep breaths to try and calm herself down again.

"I'm a terrible daughter." She mumbled into his chest.

He immediately shook his head, tightening his grip on her. "No you're not."

She ignored him. "I should have told my mom. She would hate me if she knew I've been keeping this from her."

Ezra pulled her back from him, cupping her face gently in his hands to make her look at him. "This is not your fault, Aria. You're not the one who cheated. Do you hear me?"

She nodded. "I can't keep lying to her. What should I do?"

Ezra ran his hands back into her hair, pulling it away from her face. "What do you feel you should do?"

"I don't know." She sniffled. "I can't fix this." She thought to herself for a moment. "If it is going to be fixed, then they're just going to have to do it themselves. And all I can do is tell the truth."

Ezra watched her as she realized the weight of her words. "Otherwise, I could lose the both of them."

Her eyes shot up to his after a moment. "I have to go."

He nodded, dropping his hands from her face. She turned towards her car, and he reached in front of her to open the door for her. She smiled up at him.

"My art class is going over to Hollis tomorrow to use the art room there while ours is being redone. Maybe I'll see you." She told him.

He smiled, nodding his head. "Maybe you will."

She giggled slightly, before sliding into the seat of her car. Ezra closed the door behind her and she rolled down her window.

"Thanks again; for listening." She whispered.

"Anytime. Call me later if you need to talk." He was worried about what would happen if she did end up telling her mother when she went home tonight.

She smiled. "I will."

Ezra grinned, saying goodbye to her before backing away from her car and getting into his own. They both pulled out of the parking lot, turning opposite directions to drive home for the evening.

xxx

Aria sat with her friends Hanna and Spencer, along with the other kids in her art class, in the courtyard of Hollis College. She was slumped over in her seat, with her head resting on her hand. She was exhausted. Sleep hadn't greeted her last night after the shock she received when she had gotten home after Ezra's reading.

She had found her mother in the living room, ready to finally tell her the truth. But before she could, she noticed the letter in the mother's grip and the solemn look on her face.

When she read the letter, she had refused to believe what was happening to her when she saw the signature. All of it couldn't be real. It was too crazy and didn't make sense. She didn't want to accept the fact that this anonymous person was ruining her life, and by default, controlling it.

Her friends had tried to comfort her, but they all were beginning to know how she felt, too.

Powerless.

"Mm-mm-MM!" Hanna expressed suddenly. "You are so damn lucky right now."

Aria looked up, giving her a confused look. "Why?"

Hanna smirked. "Because you have one _fine_ man staring right at you."

She turned to follow Hanna's gaze, and found her eyes locking with Ezra's across the courtyard. He was talking to a few students, although his attention was mainly focused on her. She noticed the concern look on his face.

"Damn, he _is _hot." Spencer whispered.

Aria smiled at him, feeling a glimmer of happiness for the first time that day, and straightened up, pretending to tighten a tie around her neck. He chuckled, shaking his head at her before returning to his conversation.

"Wait, wait, wait." Hanna said in shock, and both her and Spencer looked at her expectantly. "You know him?"

Aria laughed at her expression and nodded. "He works with my dad, so I see him a lot."

"He's _gorgeous_." Hanna drooled over him before she grinned at Aria. "Are you getting close to him since he works with your father?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, we're friends."

"_Just_ friends?" Spencer asked.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Yes guys, just friends. He's seven years older than me."

"So?"

"So? Isn't that kind of illegal?" Aria questioned.

Hanna snorted. "The legal age of consent in Pennsylvania is sixteen. If that's the only thing that's stopping you from attacking that man, then feel free to throw caution to the wind now."

Aria shook her head. "You're insane. Nothing's going on between us. And his name is Ezra Fitz, by the way."

Hanna giggled. "Well, with the way he's looking at you, I bet you'll be getting frisky with Fitzy _real_ soon."

Aria turned around, finding Ezra looking at her again. He was alone now, and he smiled at her before motioning for her to come over to him.

Hanna and Spencer grinned at her. "Have fun." They told her in a sing-song voice.

Aria rolled her eyes again, before walking across the courtyard to Ezra. She smiled when she arrived in front of him. "Hey."

He smiled back at her. "Hey." He responded, scrutinizing her weary appearance and watching as a large yawn passed through her. "Tired?"

She nodded. "Very." She looked at the cup in his hand and pointed to it. "Coffee?" He nodded, and she held out her hand. "Give me a sip."

Smirking, he brought it backwards, blocking her grab for it. "What do I get out of that, besides less coffee to wake_ me_ up?"

She gave him a pointed look. "Not having to deal with me argue with you about it for the next five minutes."

He laughed, shaking his head. "I actually find it quite amusing when you're mad."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Shut up and give me the drink."

Ezra grinned, but surrendered and gave up his coffee to her. Ignoring the tingling feeling in her fingers from where they brushed his, Aria brought the cup up to her lips, taking a long sip. When she finished and swallowed, a slight grimace filled her face. "This is straight up, black coffee."

Chuckling at her expression, Ezra took it back from her, noticing the red lipstick that stained part of the cup from her lips. "What can I say, the coffee here sucks."

"We need a Starbucks."

"That would make my day."

Aria giggled.

Ezra sighed. "How'd it go?"

The smile slipped from Aria's face, and she looked up at him, shaking her head. "The only way that could have been expected. Terrible."

Ezra's shoulders slumped, and he looked at her sorrowfully. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged, wanting to change the subject.

Ezra took the hint. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

He took a deep breath, pulling himself back before he got lost in her eyes like he usually did and mustered up as much courage as he could before saying, "Hardy and I are planning on going to a private pool in Philly tomorrow. I'm hereby inviting you to join us."

Aria felt a wide smile spread across her face uncontrollably. "Count me in."

Ezra grinned. "Great."

Noticing his obviously relieved expression, Aria giggled. "Did you think I would say no?"

"I- I don't know." He stuttered. "I was just… hoping you'd say yes." He shifted under her knowing glance, causing her to laugh again.

She stepped towards him slowly until they were inches apart, looking up at him through her dark eye lashes and causing his breath to hitch. She was absolutely stunning. Her hands went to his waist, gripping the fabric of his shirt between her fingers. The heels she was wearing made her taller than her normal 5"2 self, and she lifted her head so her lips were close to his jaw.

Ezra cleared his throat, trying to catch his breath and not focus on the tingling feeling where her hands touched his waist or her hot breath the fanned over his face and throat. His gaze found hers, and he immediately caught the mischief in her eyes.

"Do I make you nervous, Ezra Fitz?" She asked huskily, teasingly.

Not willing to continue to give her the satisfaction of making him melt under her power, Ezra straightened up, gaining height on her again, and a smirk spread across his face.

"Miss Montgomery, I didn't know you had it in you – trying to seduce me in a courtyard full of young adults trying to grasp their education. Am I _really _that irresistible?"

He held in a laugh as her expression turned into one of embarrassment – a deep blush painting her cheeks, darker than he'd ever seen on her, and she stepped back, removing her hands from his body and bringing them to her hips.

"I was _not_ trying to seduce you." She said strongly, but her red cheeks made her less intimidating.

Ezra chuckled. "Really?" She nodded, raising her chin. "Really. I was simply trying to get an honest answer out of you. Call it interrogating if you must."

He grinned. "Interrogating. I'll remember that."

Aria rolled her eyes at him, and then noticed her art teacher starting towards her class from the art room across the yard. She knew she had to go back, but found her willpower and turned to face Ezra one more time.

"Believe me," She started, taking his coffee from him again and taking another sip before handing it back. "If I was trying to seduce you," She continued, stepping towards him; this time close enough so their bodies were just barely touching. She smirked; keeping her eyes looked on his. "You'd know."

She stretched up on her toes, bringing her lips to brush along his ear, causing him to shiver slightly and whispered, "You wouldn't be able to resist."

And with that she settled back down on her feet, smiling innocently at him. She started walking backwards towards her class, keeping her gaze on him. "You'll call me later and let me know the details for tomorrow?"

Ezra, who stood there stunned and unable to find his voice, simply nodded at her question, clearing his throat again. She giggled, waving her fingers at him before turning and walking back to her friends.

Standing there, Ezra couldn't help but smile as he watched her leave. _What a little minx._ He shook his head, laughing to himself as he walked back to his office to prepare for his next class.

**Author's Notes:**

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews from the first chapter. I'm deeply sorry that it took me so long to update. The end of the school year was hectic. But, if the good reviews continue to come in, I will surely continue writing this now. : )**

**So, please let me know your thoughts!**

**Love you all! **


	3. I Only Needed One More Touch

**Chapter 3**

Saturday morning, Aria sat out on Spencer's porch with her head rested on her shoulder. She had a coffee in hand, and yawned largely as the two of them waited for the boys to come pick them up. The night before, her and Ezra had confirmed their plans to go to the private pool he told her about, and she had asked him if she could bring Spencer along with them since she would be covering for her as her alibi. He had, of course, said yes, much to her relief. Even though her parents loved Ezra and knew the two were growing a friendship, she wasn't comfortable with the knowing she would be spending the day poolside with two out-of-college men. She was sure her father would have a fit.

Especially since they had all decided to stay the night. Ezra had told her that the pool was actually at his brother's house and who had told him that he could go over whenever he was out of town – which he was this weekend.

Spencer was much more nervous than Aria since she had yet to officially meet Ezra or Hardy, but she was excited at the same time. She wanted to get to know the man that was obviously becoming a huge part of her best friend's life. She was also looking to get away from her family for a while; they weren't on the same page at all recently.

Aria popped her head up as she saw Ezra's familiar car pull up to the side of the house. The girls stood up and grabbed their small bags, heading over to the car as he stepped out.

As she walked closer, Aria raised her eyebrows at Ezra, noticing his obviously awake and energetic mood. It was much unlike Hardy's, who slid out of the passenger side door, squinting as the bright morning light hit his vision.

"Whose brilliant idea was it to make me get my ass out of bed at seven thirty in the damn morning?" He huffed, sliding his sunglasses down from the top of his head to rest on his nose.

"Not mine." Aria muttered. She glanced at Ezra again, shaking her head. "How are you so awake right now?"

He grinned. "I have a wonderful coffee machine to wake up to every morning."

"Lucky." She looked down at the cup in her hands, grimacing slightly. "I think I'm drinking the strongest coffee ever to grace the planet."

"Hey." Spencer replied, offended as she was the one who had made the coffee that morning.

Aria giggled, before gesturing between the three of them. "Okay well. Spencer, this is Ezra and Hardy. Boys – Spencer."

"It's nice to meet you, Spencer." Ezra smiled politely.

She smiled back, nodding her head. "It's nice to meet you, too. Finally."

Aria cleared her throat at her friend, before watching as Hardy stepped forward.

He smirked, holding out his hand for Spencer. "It's a pleasure to meet you, darling." He greeted as she placed her hand in his, and he raised it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles. Spencer's cheeks flamed as she looked down, trying to hide the blush as she smiled sheepishly.

Aria held back her laughter and looked over at Ezra, raising her eyebrows questioningly. He shook his head and grinned, walking over to her as Spencer and Hardy continued their introductions.

He leaned down to brush his lips along her ear and whispered, "I told you he'd probably hit on her."

She giggled. "This should be entertaining." She then leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'm so tired."

He smiled, looking down at her adoringly. "I have a coffee in the car, and I put cream and sugar in it just for you."

Her head tilted up and she smiled widely. "You're my savior."

Ezra chuckled, and they both looked up as Spencer giggled from whatever Hardy was telling her. He rolled his eyes, heading over to the car. "Okay, are we ready to go?" He asked the group.

Hardy nodded and glanced over at Aria. "You can sit up front, shorty. I'm gonna try and catch some more sleep."

He walked passed Ezra to get into the backseat, shooting him a knowing smile to which Ezra replied by shoving his shoulder. Hardy chuckled, opening the back door and sliding in.

Ezra took the girls bags, adding them to the ones already in the trunk as they got into the car as well; Spencer in the back with Hardy and Aria in the passenger seat.

As he slid into the driver's side and started the engine, he grinned over at Aria who was already downing the coffee that had been sitting in the center console. She smiled back, taking another pointed sip before telling him, "You're not getting this one back."

He laughed, pulling off of the curb and started to drive towards his brother's house.

xxx

A little over an hour later, the small silver car pulled up in front of a large house.

Spencer and Hardy had made small talk during the first ten minutes of the ride before they both had passed out in the back seat.

While Aria had wanted to follow suit with them, Ezra made sure she didn't fall asleep. Whenever she would close her eyes longer than a few seconds, he would poke her or do something obnoxious to wake her up again. The two of them had goofed off the entire car ride, and by the time they finally got to their destination, Aria was actually feeling more awake.

They both stepped out of the car, slamming their doors behind them in order to wake up the two other sleeping passengers. Hardy groaned while Spencer stretched out and sat up, blushing furiously when she realized she had been sleeping on his shoulder the entire time. He smiled at the sight, chuckling as she quickly got out of the car. He followed her shortly after.

All of them grabbed their bags from the trunk before heading into the house. Aria's eyes widened as she stepped through the front door, taking in the extravagant essence of the house. The four of them walked through the kitchen and into the main living area. It was large, with a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, and a stone fire place against the back wall. The walls were wooden and the furniture was plush, and there was a pool table in the corner of the room.

"Sweet." Hardy hollered as his eyes landed on it.

"The lounge and bedrooms are upstairs, along with the movie theatre and game rooms." Ezra told them.

Spencer's eyebrows raised in awe. "Your brother has a movie theatre in his house?"

"Yup."

"Damn."

He chuckled, and they all dropped their bags before he led them through the rest of the downstairs. They walked past the den that matched the living room, and the office, until they finally reached two large glass doors. Ezra pulled them open, and they all stepped out onto an indoor patio.

"Wow." Aria whispered, looking around.

A gigantic pool sat in the middle of the room, with glass windows that curved up around it on the far side, up past the second story of the house. Tables and chairs surrounded the area and a grill sat against the side wall.

"Damn, this is sick." Hardy muttered.

Aria and Spencer murmured quiet agreements, taking in the whole place.

"He said we could use everything, just don't break anything. This shit's expensive." Ezra told them, plopping down on one of the plush chairs.

Hardy grinned. "Well, let's get this weekend getaway going, shall we?"

xxx

Spencer sat at the counter in the kitchen, nibbling on the fruit she had on a plate in front of her. She watched as Hardy popped open a beer in front of her and raised it to his lips, before lifting his eyebrows at her.

"Want one?" He asked.

She nodded, and he turned back to the fridge to grab another one for her. He slid it across the counter top to her awaiting hand. She pried the top off before taking a sip.

The group had entertained themselves for the day mostly in the game room, seeing who could get the highest scores and setting wagers on the more intense games. Ezra had showed off his impressive basketball skills on the hoops, while Aria dominated at the air hockey table. Spencer and Hardy had been attached to the old fashioned game machines, playing pac-man and battleship matches. They had all wasted hours in the room.

"So," Hardy started, sitting in the seat across from her. "Are you excited to be staying for the weekend?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, definitely. I called my mom and told her Aria and I were going to my lake house. But it feels good to get away from it all for a while."

He tilted his head. "Family issues?"

"Yeah. But I'm not going to let that ruin this amazing weekend." She smiled.

"Good." He grinned. "I can't wait to watch those two finally hook up."

Spencer laughed. "You noticed it, too?"

He chuckled, throwing his head back. "The constant eye sex and the need to always be touching each other somehow? Yeah, I noticed. The tension between them comes off in thick waves."

Popping a grape in her mouth, Spencer tipped her beer to him. "I give it a week."

Hardy snorted. "I take that bet. I say they'll be jumping each other's bones by tomorrow."

"That soon?" Spencer asked, raising her eyebrows.

The sound of someone jumping into the pool and then lots of laughter flowed into the room, causing Hardy to grin widely and lift his beer to her. "Hell yes."

She laughed, clinking her glass to his. "You're on."

xxx

"Hey."

Ezra looked up, smiling as he saw Aria approach. "Hey."

His eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight of her. And _damn_, was she a sight. He drank in the newly exposed skin to him. He looked along the creamy skin of her thighs and her flat and slender stomach and waist, to the top curves of her breasts revealed from the bright pink bathing suit she wore.

She plopped down next to him, dipping her feet into the water before quickly removing them again. "Wow, the water's _freezing_!"

"The weather outside effects the temperature." Ezra grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "You get used to it after a while."

Nodding, Aria slowly lowered her feet into it again, a shiver running up her back.

"So I've been thinking." Ezra started.

Aria raised her eyebrows teasingly. "Really?"

He rolled his eyes, nudging her shoulder with his own and causing a giggle to escape her. He smiled at the sound, watching her face light up and her eyes glimmer.

"Yes, really. And I realized that you have now heard some of my writing, and I haven't heard or read any of yours." He pouted. "Seems kind of unfair."

She laughed. "Well, I can assure you that your writing is far better than mine."

"I'd like to be the judge of that."

At her reluctant look, he leaned towards her and rested his chin on her shoulder. He furthered the extensiveness of his pout, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please?"

As she turned her head to face him, they both realized how awfully close they were. Aria swallowed, pushing away the urge to close the millimeter distance between their lips and instead giggled at his expression. She huffed sarcastically. "Fine."

Ezra removed his chin from her shoulder, a smile across his face. "I can't wait."

He then stood up, stretching his arms above his head. Aria's gaze followed his movements and lingered on the exposed skin of his chest before snapping up to his eyes. He grinned down at her as he lowered his arms. "Ready to go for that swim?"

Aria shook her head. "I think I'm changing my mind. It's like the north pole in there."

"Come on, don't be a wimp."

She sighed. "Are you ready to go in?"

"Yeah, if you'll come with me."

Aria whined, throwing her head back and standing up alongside of him. "Fine."

"Yay." He grinned, looking at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. She backed away slightly as he took a devious step forward. She sensed his plan and pleaded with him through her eyes not to go through with it, but he shook his head. Quickly, she turned to run away from him, but she wasn't fast enough. His arms encircled around her waist, pulling her back tightly against his chest and lifting her feet from the ground.

Aria struggled to get out of his grip as he carried her to the deep end of the pool. "No, no, no, no, please! Please, please, _please_ don't throw me in!"

Ezra chuckled, tightening his grasp on her as she continued to squirm. "Why not?"

"Because it's _cold _and I don't want to be thrown in to it!" She cried.

He stopped at the end, watching in amusement as she continued to wiggle and manage to twist her small body in his arms. Immediately, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and her legs around his waist, holding onto him for dear life.

"Please, Ezra. Look, you can go in, and I'll watch and cheer you on from the chairs over there where it's nice and warm and dry, and I'll come in later. Please." She pleaded with him, trying whatever she could to make him put her down.

He shook his head, calling her bluff. "No you won't. Trust me; it will go much more quickly if we both just go in now. You're body with adjust to the water faster."

"Please, Ezra. I'll let you read a bunch of my stories, I promise." She told him, burying her head in his neck.

"Nope, you already said you would, regardless of whether I throw you in or not."

"_Ezra_." She whined.

He sighed. "Okay, fine." Aria breathed out in relief, before she caught the smirk across his face. "We'll both go in."

"What? N-"

That's all she could get out before she felt him leap off the edge of the pool and her body landed in the frigid water. It pierced her skin as she tried to swim to the surface. As she broke through, she took a deep gasp for air, her eyes wide in shock. "Holy shit, it's _freezing_!"

Ezra laughed at her, before swimming up and grabbing her as he noticed her try to swim to the ladder on the side of the pool. "Where do you think you're going?"

"_Out_! Let me go, I'm going to freeze to death in here!"

He just chuckled at her again, and she huffed, turning around to latch herself onto him instead and absorb as much body heat as she could. He hugged her trembling body to him, loving the feeling that swelled up inside of him as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist as her arms did his shoulders, and her head nuzzled into his neck.

"I'm gonna die in here!" She cried as she continued to tighten herself against him.

He grinned. "No you're not."

"Yes I am. And you're going to have to live with it on your conscience for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to deal with that?"

Ezra laughed loudly, shaking his head at her cuteness. "I think I'll take my chances."

Aria whimpered, but didn't argue her point any further. Instead, pressed herself closer to him, tightening her grip. He slowly began to run his fingers through her wet hair, smoothing it down her back and away from her face. His cheek rested against her temple, and she eventually closed her eyes and sighed as her body began to adjust to the water after a while.

"See?" He murmured against her skin. "It's not so bad."

She huffed. "My heart still feels like it's going to stop beating. This can't be healthy – swimming in a zero degree pool."

He hummed. "You poor thing. I'm sure it's not zero degrees though. Try more around sixty."

"I seriously doubt that. We'll probably both have hypothermia tomorrow. Nice job."

Unable to resist himself, Ezra burst out into a fit of laughter. "You're absolutely adorable, you know that right?"

Aria's head shot back so she could look him in the eyes, her own narrowing. "I am not _adorable._"

"But you are."

"No I'm not." She told him sternly.

He nodded his head, biting his lip to try and contain the large smile that kept trying to spread along his face. "I love it."

Blushing slightly, Aria looked down. "What?"

"How adorable you are."

Her blush deepened, and her eyes rose back to his, realizing their current situation for the first time. Ezra's arms were wrapped tightly around her back, rubbing soothing circles along the skin there as he held her to him. Their chests were pressed against each other, enough so that she could feel the beating from his heart against hers, and her legs were wound around his waist while her arms draped lazily along his shoulders.

Her lips parted slightly as she looked at him. His hair was wet, causing it to spike up in different directions. The lights in the dimmed pool area bounced off the water and reflected against his skin, making it seem like he was actually glowing right there in front of her. _He's gorgeous._

"What?" He asked, noticing her staring.

"N-nothing." She stuttered, looking down.

He grinned. "What is it?" She shook her head, and he continued to press her. "Tell me."

_Don't say it._ Aria told herself. _Don't you dare say it._

She smirked at him, resting her hands on his shoulders instead. "I was just thinking about how fun it would be…" She raised herself above him a little bit, untwining her legs from around his waist. "To get payback on you."

Shoving down hard on his shoulders, Aria managed to dunk Ezra underneath the surface of the water. It lasted about five seconds before she felt his hands wrap around her legs and pull her down with him. When she was submerged in the icy water, she slipped from his grip and attempted to swim away from him. He quickly caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest again. They both broke through the surface of the water, gasping in breaths of air before Aria burst into a fit a giggles.

Ezra chuckled along with her, tucking his arms underneath hers and began to walk backwards in a small circle, Aria twisting effortlessly through the water in front of him. She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few moments, before Ezra leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Are you getting tired?"

Her eyes opened slowly and she gazed up at him, nodding her head. "Today was so much fun though; I don't want it to end."

He smiled, setting her down and reaching for her hand. "Come on."

They climbed out of the pool, grabbing two towels off of the chairs by the side. Ezra ran it through his hair quickly, causing it to spike out everywhere and Aria to giggle before he wrapped it around his waist. Aria wrapped hers around her body, tucking it underneath her arms to hold it up.

They heard the sound of the TV playing in the den as they dashed through the slightly chilled house and up the stairs, heading into their bedrooms to change into dry clothes quickly.

Aria untied her bathing suit, letting it fall to the floor before she dug through her suit case for a pair of blue pajama shorts and a light gray tee-shirt. She slipped them on, and then brushed out her wet hair in the bathroom attached to her room, pulling it up into a messy bun when she was finished. She took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror, noticing the small smile that refused to leave her face. Shaking her head, she walked to the door to her room and pulled it open, finding Ezra leaning against the opposite wall waiting for her.

He was dressed similarly to her in a gray tee-shirt of his own, and dark blue pajama pants. They both laughed at the coincidence, before Ezra led her down the hallway to the movie theatre.

"Damn." Aria expressed as they stepped in. The lights in the room were dimmed, and large comfortable looking couches and chairs lined three of the walls, while the other was a free white wall. A projector hung from the ceiling that Ezra went to toy with while Aria took a seat on one of the couches. She sighed at the feeling of it. It was plush and squishy and big enough for her to stretch out on – which she did. Her small body sunk into it and she hummed in approval.

Ezra chuckled as he walked over to her, and she sat up to make room for him. He sat down, lifting his legs up and resting his arm along the back of the couch so she could lean against him. She laid her head on his shoulder as previews started playing along the wall in front of them.

"This is amazing." She murmured.

He nodded. "I know."

Aria was quiet for a moment, debating herself in her head. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Of course."

She lowered her gaze. "I don't mean to be rude or anything… but I've seen your place. There's a _huge_ difference between yours and your brother's."

Ezra sighed, sliding further down the couch. Aria turned over onto her stomach, resting her chin on his chest to look up at him.

"My family has money." He told her. "A lot of it, which is how my brother got this place." He took a deep breath. "There's always been a lot of… stresses between my family and I. We don't always see eye to eye, I guess you could say.

When I went to college, I wanted to be able to support myself instead of relying on my family's money. My brother went down a different path. Don't get me wrong; he's got a great job and he brings in a lot of income for himself, but definitely not enough to have been able to afford this place."

Aria nodded. "What happened between you and your family?"

Ezra swallowed hard. "Um… there was a falling out between us when I was a kid. I just wanted to get the hell out of that house as fast as I could."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently.

He shook his head. "Not now. I don't want to ruin this weekend by think about that."

Aria nodded, frowning at the torn up expression on his face. She reached up, touching her fingers to his cheek softly. He looked up at her and she smiled warmly at him. He smiled back, pushing a piece of her dark brown hair back behind her ear that had escaped her bun.

He gazed into her wide, deep hazel eyes, feeling himself getting lost in her. His hand traced along the underside of her jaw, feeling the smooth creamy skin.

"You're so beautiful." He confessed to her.

Aria's lips parted as the butterflies inside her stomach exploded into a fit of fluttering and her breath caught in her throat. She hesitantly raised herself onto her elbows, bringing her face above his. His hands came up to cup her cheeks gently in his hands, lowering her lips to his slowly. Their lips brushed along each other's quickly, not kissing but intensifying the atmosphere in the room.

Aria went to drop her lips to his more firmly, but a door slamming and laughter coming from the hallway made them jump apart.

Ezra cleared his throat and Aria lowered her face to his shoulder, hiding it from his view as the deep blush covered her face. They both tried to focus on the movie that began to play along the wall, ignoring the sexual tension that immediately consumed both of them.

Aria closed her eyes, resisting the urge to run her hands along his chest and push up to capture his lips with hers. The slight moment that their lips had touched had caused a fire to spread throughout her body, warming her insides from head to toe. She couldn't even imagine what a real kiss with him would feel like, and she wanted nothing more than to find out.

Ezra closed his own eyes, sighing as he tried to keep his hands still and not move them to her waist or hair. The warmth and tingly feeling that covered his body from where her skin touched his filled his head, refusing to let him focus on anything else.

They both lied there for what felt like hours, not saying anything or being able to concentrate on the movie, until sleep finally decided to save them and take them both under.

**Author's Notes:**

**Okay, so Chapter 3 was part 1 of the pool; chapter 4 will be part 2.**

**Please review and let me know any of your thoughts, ideas, criticisms, etc… I was kind of nervous about this chapter, so I really want to know how it turned out.**

**Also, I'm sorry for the wait on this chapter. But, I got a job! I'm working with kids all day, and it's absolutely exhausting.**

**Your reviews have been amazing, and I appreciate the love and support SO much. I'm sending my love to all of you!**

**xxx**


	4. Another Taste Of Heavenly Rush

**Author's Notes:**

**PLEASE READ.**

**Hey guys! I just wanted to take the time to really thank all of you for sticking with this story. **

**The fact that it has 100+ reviews on just the first three chapters is absolutely breathtaking. Especially since I'm always so busy and take a while to update. **

**I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.**

**Here's the chapter you've been waiting for.**

**Chapter 4**

Aria woke up feeling more warm and comfortable than she ever had before. She hummed, nuzzling her face closer into the source, breathing in the delicious scent before she paused. That scent was familiar, and most definitely her favorite. Peppermint breath-mints, old books, axe and a scent that belong singularly to one person. Ezra.

She lifted her head and opened her eyes, realizing her warm pillow was actually Ezra's chest. Holding her breath as if not to wake him, she looked down, seeing his arms wrapped securely around her waist. His head was tilted to the side, resting on the arm of the couch in the movie theatre, and his chest rose gently in deep, even breaths. Her eyes focused in on his lips which were parted slightly, and his hair was a curly mess on top of his head.

_God, he's even gorgeous in his sleep. _

Aria shook her head, slight panic flooding through her. She reached down to gently pry his arms from around her. He unconsciously resisted her efforts at first, making her heart beat heavily against her chest. She was almost nervous that he would be able to hear it.

Laying his arms by his sides, she slowly crawled over him and off of the couch and silently tip-toed to the door. She opened it carefully, glancing back at his sleeping form once more before stepping out of the room and reclosing the door behind her.

Rushing to her room, she flung the door open and closed it behind her, leaning back against it and threading her fingers through her hair, messing up the bun on her head.

"What am I doing?" She whispered to herself.

She heard rustling on the bed in front of her, and her eyes popped up to see Spencer sitting there with a mug of coffee in her hands.

"Are you okay?" She asked, a concerned look on her face.

Aria cleared her throat, nodding her head. "Y-yeah. Of course."

Spencer sat up straighter, patting the bed in front of her. "Come here."

Sighing, Aria complied, plopping down on the bed.

"Well, I don't believe you." Spencer started. "And by the fact that you never came back to this room last night, I'm going to guess it has something to do with Ezra."

When Aria didn't respond, Spencer raised her eyebrows. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"I don't know what to do, Spence. He makes me feel…" Aria whispered after a moment, playing with the comforter beneath her. "Special. Beautiful. Important. It's like… he knows me, better than I know myself."

Spencer smiled. "You make it sound like that's a bad thing."

"Because it is, isn't it?" Aria asked, looking up at her. "He deserves so much better than me. He deserves an older woman who can love him with everything she has in her."

Shaking her head before her friend was even finished speaking, Spencer pushed herself forward a bit, placing her hands on Aria's shoulders. "Hey, listen to me. Believe me, I know how what it's like to feel like you're not good enough for someone, and I know what it's like to have feelings for someone you know you shouldn't. But you of all people deserve to be happy, Aria. You're a good person."

Aria's stomach twisted uncomfortably, and her chest suddenly felt too tight. All she could think about was what Spencer would really say and think about her if she knew the truth.

She couldn't let anyone know about _that_ though. It was too late to turn back. What's done is done.

So instead, she smiled at her friend. "Thanks, Spence. You're right."

Spencer laughed, leaning forward to give her a quick hug. "Of course, Ar."

Aria pulled back and took a deep breath, standing up from the bed. She started to walk towards the door, before Spencer stopped her.

"Wait." She smiled, pulling her into the bathroom. She handed Aria her tooth brush, instructing her to clean her teeth while she took care of her hair.

After Aria spit into the sink, she looked into the mirror to find her hair taken out of the messy bun it had been in, now laying in soft, brushed out waves down her shoulders and back. She thanked Spencer quickly, before exiting the room and walking back to the movie theater.

She entered the room, seeing Ezra still in the same position she had left him in. As she shut the door she took a deep breath, shaking her head at what she was doing.

Quietly approaching him, she climbed onto the couch gently, lying down by his side. She raised her hand to his face, brushing the hair back from his forehead.

"Ezra," She whispered softly to him. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

He groaned slightly, nuzzling his head further into the couch. Aria giggled, running her hand through his hair, gently scratching at his scalp. "Wakey, wakey."

Ezra slowly came into consciousness, humming in approval at the feeling of her ministrations in his hair. He opened his eyes, smiling at the beautiful girl in front of him, before yawning widely.

Aria giggled again. "Morning, handsome." She greeted him in a cute, babyish voice.

He grinned, raising his fingers to her cheek. "Morning, beautiful."

A light pink tinted Aria's cheeks, and she brought her bottom lip between her teeth to chew at it anxiously and cleared her throat. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

Ezra sighed, stretching out his body. "Well, we should probably start to head home around three, since your parents are coming back from their trip to that museum at four. Until then, we can use the pool, play some games; whatever you want."

Aria swallowed nervously, lowering her gaze. "Anything I want?"

He nodded. "Mhm."

She let out a deep breath, letting her fingers wonder slowly from the bottom of his stomach to the collar of his tee-shirt, toying with it teasingly. Ezra's eyes closed as he felt her grip his hair tighter between her fingers, and she moved dangerously close to him, brushing her nose softly against his.

"Good to know." She murmured.

Ezra breathed in the air she let out, and his mouth parted, fully prepared to take advantage of the situation. He tilted his head to close the distance between them, but she backed away before he could.

His eyes opened in confusion and he watched as she smirked and got off of the couch, walking towards the door.

"I'm gonna go get changed. I'll see you downstairs for breakfast?" She grinned, leaving the room and Ezra dazed on the couch.

He sat there for a few moments after she left, and for the first time, acknowledged the sexual frustration built inside of him. He finally let himself admit how much he wanted her. To hold her, to kiss her, to touch her, to pleasure her…

Ezra shook his head quickly and sat up. _Now you're just getting ahead of yourself._

He knew she was purposely teasing him and _trying_ to frustrate him as much as she did.

_Well,_ He thought to himself. _Two can play at that game._

xxx

Ezra was downstairs before Aria, and he was now sitting at the kitchen counter watching Spencer make eggs at the stove. He had showered and dressed in a pair of striped bathing suit trunks, knowing that they would all go swimming again today, and a dark maroon tee-shirt.

"I'd offer to help, but I even screw up cereal, sometimes." He told Spencer, feeling bad that she was doing all the cooking.

She laughed, turning to look at him. "That's actually pretty impressive; screwing up cereal." She responded, shaking her head. "You could attempt at the toast if you'd like?"

"Okay, but I just want to put it out there that I _did _warn you." He grinned, getting up and walking over to the toaster.

Spencer laughed again. "Duly noted."

Ezra popped two pieces of bread into the toaster and pushed down the lever. As he finished, he noticed Aria lean against the counter next to him. He smiled, moving to put one hand on either side of her waist against the marble. As he stepped closer to her, his eyes traveled down her body. She was wearing a pair of tiny shorts that revealed her slender legs, and a white tee-shirt that had a v-lined neck to where he could see a generous amount of her cleavage. By the blue strings tied around her shoulders, he could tell she had opted to wearing her bathing suit also.

"Hi." He breathed, smiling down at her.

"Hi there." She looked over at the toaster and raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure this is a smart idea? You're not exactly the best cook in the kitchen. Wouldn't want to burn your brother's house down."

He shook his head at her smirk. "Oh, you are _so funny_! Such a comedian. If you're so worried, then why don't you just help me."

"Help you make toast. Are you aware of how pathetic that sounds?"

"You know what? Why don't you go sit over there; make something of yourself besides being a pain in my ass."

Aria giggled as he pushed her away, towards one of the stools seated along the counter. She sat down, resting her chin on her hands as she watched him cook.

Spencer was finishing up the eggs, hiding her smile from the two of them. Ezra continued on with the toast, popping it up every ten seconds to check on it. Aria shook her head, unable to contain her laughter.

"Ezra, it's never going to cook if you keep doing that!"

"Shush."

Eventually, Hardy came downstairs and sat across from Aria. He slumped over, resting his head on the table, and Aria realized he was definitely not a morning person. She got up and made a batch of coffee, pouring it into four mugs that Ezra directed her to, and sat one down in front of him. He grunted a thank you, taking a sip from it.

A few minutes later, Spencer sat down a large plate with eggs and bacon in the middle of the table, while Ezra brought over a plate of toast. He bragged about how perfect they came out to Aria, making her roll her eyes at his cuteness.

"So," Hardy started after they finished eating. "I think we should go make use of that pool before we have to leave. Who's in?"

They all nodded in agreement and Ezra and Hardy headed to the pool, while Spencer told them she and Aria would be right back, pulling her confused friend upstairs with her.

They entered their room, and Spencer closed the door behind her. She dragged Aria into the bathroom and began to dig through her make up bag.

"What are you doing?" Aria asked curiously.

Spencer pulled out a few make up accessories out of her bag and set them on the counter. "Making sure Fitz won't be able to keep his eyes off of you."

Aria shook her head, smiling slightly. It won't matter anyways. It's all going to wash off once I get into the water."

Opening a tube of mascara, Spencer smirked and said one word that answered all her prayers. "Waterproof."

xxx

Ezra and Hardy were lounging on the chairs at the poolside, waiting for the girls to come down to the pool. Hardy laid flat, eyes closed and still, while Ezra screwed around with a few games on his iPhone.

"So," Hardy started, not opening his eyes. "How are things going with you and Aria?"

Ezra sighed as he swiped the wrong way during Temple Run, falling into the water and effectively ending his game. "Fine."

"Still haven't screwed her?"

He groaned and curled up as he felt Ezra's hard punch to his stomach. "Shut up."

"Come on man," Hardy managed to choke out. "I know you want her. And it's clear as fucking day that she would do anything to be with you, too. She hangs on your every word. Not that you're much different."

Ezra sighed, locking his phone and laying his head back. "I'm working on it, okay?"

"How so?"

"Just stay out of it for now. I'll let you know when and if something happens."

Hardy laughed. "Whatever you say, Ez."

Ezra rolled his eyes, before clearing his throat as the girls came through the glass doors to the pool, giggling over something. His eyes focused in on Aria and the gentle curls that were falling down her back, and her eyes that were framed by thick, dark lashes.

Her and Spencer had stopped by the side of the pool, continuing to laugh slightly to themselves. Spencer leaned down to her ear, whispering something to her before giggling again, while Aria looked over at Ezra and smirked. He smiled back, tilting his head to the side. She whispered something back to Spencer, before walking over to him.

"Hey." She smiled, sitting down on the end of his lounge chair.

Hardy cleared his throat, standing up from his own chair and excusing himself. He entered his iPhone into the main sound system at the other end of the room, playing one of the playlists in his music. Aria and Ezra both watched as he stripped off his shirt, jumping into the pool and making a large splash, covering Spencer in water. She squealed, shying away from the water and laughing.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Bring it." He challenged, grinning at her.

She laughed again, pulling off her wet tee-shirt and shorts, revealing her deep blue bikini, before jumping in after him.

Aria laughed and Ezra shook his head, sitting up next to her.

"I like you bathing suit." She whispered, cautiously resting her hand on his leg and running her fingers along the red and blue stripes.

_Holy shit. _Ezra gulped slightly, eyes locked on her hand. "Thanks."

His breath caught as her fingers slowly trialed farther up his thigh, and he knew that if she got any closer to his hips, she'd definitely start to stir up quite the situation.

"You ready to go for a swim?" She asked, biting her lip to hide her smile. Her fingers rose another inch causing him to clear his throat. She watched him in amusement, fully aware of what she was doing and loving how much it affected him.

When he didn't answer her, she dipped her head, trying to lock her eyes with his again. "Ezra?"

His gaze snapped up from her fingers to her brown orbs, finding the hidden deviousness in them immediately, causing him to catch on to her actions.

_What a little minx._ Ezra grinned down at her, slipping her hand off his leg as he stood up. "Absolutely. Let's go." He stood in front of her, reaching down to the hem of his shirt and pulling it up over his head and tossing it onto the chair where he had been sitting.

Aria's eyes fell to his stomach that was directly in front of her, and her mouth dropped slightly as she looked along the lines of his defined abs. She did everything in her power to remind herself not to drool as her gaze lingered on the v-lines of his hips that led down to her treasure.

_What the hell? Not _my _treasure. _His _treasure. Not even a treasure! His… holy crap…_

Aria closed her eyes and shook her head quickly, before returning her eyes to his. She blushed scarlet at the smug smirk covering his face, and her breathing hitched as he leaned down, his face inches from hers.

Her eyes closed once more as their noses touched, and he hummed, rubbing his along hers. He trailed it along her cheek and jaw, before finally resting at her ear.

"Meet you in the pool, sweetheart." He whispered, causing her to shiver and her head to fall back slightly. Ezra grinned in response.

Aria's eyes fluttered open again slowly, watching dumbfounded as he walked to the side of the pool before jumping into the deep end.

Ezra came back up for air, shaking out his hair quickly. He swam over to the end of the pool and sat on one of the in-water ledges. Spencer and Hardy were at the other end of the pool; Hardy being his normal idiotic self and Spencer laughing hysterically at him.

He smirked and shook his head at the two of them, before looking over at Aria again. The sight literally took all the air out of his lungs, and he was no longer aware of any of his surroundings except for her.

She was literally stripping in front of him. Of course, she was just taking off the clothes covering her bathing suit, but the appearance of the situation still caused certain emotions to swell up inside of Ezra's chest, twist his stomach, and awaken things that should stay at bay. He watched as she pulled the white tee-shirt up and over her head, his eyes lingering on each piece of newly revealed skin. She then popped the button on her shorts, shimmering them down her legs and showing the top of her creamy thighs.

He had seen her like this yesterday when they had gone swimming, but he hadn't taken the opportunity to fully take in her appearance.

And _damn_, was it a good one.

Unconsciously leaning closer towards the end of the pool where she was, he took in her choice in bathing suit. It was a blue bikini that was spotted with red and yellow vintage flowers. The bottoms were shaped like the smallest shorts he ever thought possible to be made, and the top pushed up and brought together he breasts perfectly, and as his eyes lingered on the voluminous tops of them, he felt himself begin to stir in his shorts.

Before he could react, he felt something slam into his chest hard, causing him to groan. He looked down, finding a football floating in the water, and looked up to see Hardy smirking at him from across the pool; Spencer trying to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Heads up." He shouted sarcastically, before adding, "Consider that me returning the favor you paid me earlier."

Ezra chucked the ball back at him, but Hardy easily caught it, knowing it was coming. He laughed, and quickly glanced over in Aria's direction, before looking back and winking at Ezra.

Ezra flicked him off, causing Hardy to chuckle again before turning back to Spencer.

Movement caught Ezra's attention again, and he looked to see Aria lowering herself to sit on the side of the pool and dangle her legs in.

"It's a lot warmer today than it was last night." She commented.

He nodded, before swimming over to her. He brought up his arms and crossed them over her thighs, resting against her. "Are you coming in?"

She nodded, reaching up her hand to brush the wet hair away from his forehead and run her fingers through his messy hair. He sighed in contentment, closing his eyes and resting his head on his arms in her lap.

Aria continued her ministrations for a few moments, before he lifted his head up and brought his hands to her hips. He gripped them gently, lifting her up slightly and lowering her into the pool.

The four of them made good use of the pool for a few hours, playing a lot of water games or throwing around the football. Ezra would grab Aria around the waist whenever she tried to catch the ball and spin her away, resulting in her jumping on his back and pretending to drown him every time. Three hours later, they finally decided the get out of the pool for lunch.

Aria and Spencer cooked, grilling up chicken with some noodles on the side. They all sat and talked while they ate, and Ezra continuously kept picking food off of Aria's plate. When she asked him about it, he insisted that hers tasted better even though they had the exact same type of food and proportion, causing her to roll her eyes and Spencer and Hardy to give each other knowing looks.

After finishing up, Spencer and Hardy went upstairs to start packing while Aria and Ezra washed the dishes.

Reminded of the first night he met her, Ezra teasingly splashed her with a little bit of the soapy water. She turned and gave him a pointed look. "Really? You're going to start this again?"

He laughed. "Well, we didn't get to finish what we started last time."

Aria looked away, hiding her slight blush. She wondered if he was talking about their water fight, or if he remembered the almost kiss they had.

She hummed in response, continuing to clean up the dishes.

Setting down the last plate on the counter, Aria wiped off her hands before turning around and catching Ezra staring at her. His gaze was intense, and she fidgeted nervously.

"What?" She asked. "Do I have soap on my face?"

He smiled softly, shaking his head. "No." He told her, taking a step closer to her. "You're perfect."

Her blush deepened, and she looked down. "I wouldn't say _perfect_."

"I would."

Aria's gaze shot back up to his, seeing the honesty in his eyes. She knew the truth though, and how absolutely wrong his words were. She was the farthest thing from perfect. She knew what she really was, and that he deserved so much better than her, and that she would never live up to being what he needed. But that didn't stop her from wanting him. Her heart pounded, and she shook her head.

_God help me_.

She slowly brought her hands up to his neck, rising up on her toes as she felt his hands come to rest on her waist. They both tilted their heads at the same time, feeling their breaths mingle and span across each other's faces. Ezra moved to close the final space separating them.

They should have expected it by now, seeing as how every other time they tried to go for an actual, non-teasing kiss, they would get interrupted. Why should this time be any different?

It wasn't.

Their lips barely touched before they heard footsteps enter the kitchen, causing them to jump apart quickly. They turned to see Spencer and Hardy walk in, setting their bags onto the counter.

Aria cleared her throat, moving past them to head upstairs and pack her own bag. Ezra followed shortly after her to do the same.

xxx

After they were all ready to leave, they put their bags into the trunk of Ezra's car. He locked the front door to the house before they all set off back home. The hour went by quickly, and Ezra dropped off both Hardy and Spencer at their respective destinations, receiving large thank you's, from mostly Spencer, for being invited to come for the weekend.

Lastly, but for sure not the least, Ezra made his last stop, parking in front of the Montgomery's house to drop off Aria.

"I guess they aren't back yet." Aria murmured, seeing the empty driveway.

Ezra nodded and got out of the car quickly, moving around to the passenger side to open her door for her. She smiled at him, watching as he grabbed her bag out of the trunk and hand it to her. She slung it over her shoulder, before turning to him again.

"Thank you for inviting me." She told him. "This was the most fun I've had in… probably over a year." She laughed sadly.

Ezra reached out to touch her cheek, tilting his head as he looked at her. "Of course." He frowned at the sad expression on her face. "You know, you deserve to be happy, Aria."

She closed her eyes, feeling the pain swell up inside of her from hearing those words for the second time that day. They were so deeply false, that she was almost mad that people kept telling her them when they weren't even remotely true, but she knew it wasn't anyone's fault.

They didn't know what she did.

She sighed, shoving away the emotions before looking up at him again. "Thanks, again."

Hesitantly, she stood up on her toes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, before slowly pulling away and settling down on her feet again. "I'll see you…"

"Tomorrow." He finished for her, smiling. "If you'd like."

She giggled, nodding her head. "I'd love to."

"Great."

Aria bit her lip and gave him a small wave. She took one last look at him to last her through until the next time her eyes would lay on him, before turning and walking towards her house. When she reached her porch, she set her bag down and reached into her pocket, fumbling for her keys.

Ezra watched her walk up to her door, feeling the inner debate inside of him.

_This is the best chance you're going to get._

He ran his fingers through his hair nervously as he watched her put her bag down and reach into her pocket, breathing out nervously.

_You better fucking take it._

He took a hesitant step forward before stopping again, his nerves getting in the way.

_GO! NOW._

Huffing slightly, Ezra shook his head and mumbled nonsense to himself, before taking a deep breath. "Aria!"

She turned around, watching as he began to walk along her front sidewalk, noticing the determined look in his eyes.

"Before something else gets in the way, like something usually does," He started, keeping his eyes locked on hers. She shifted anxiously, feeling her stomach begin to twist.

"I just really need to do something." He finished as he ran up the stairs to her porch and immediately walked to her, his hands reaching up to cup her face as he quickly lowered his mouth to hers.

Aria gasped as his lips met hers, and she automatically wrapped one arm around his neck, the other tucking under his shoulder. One of his hands knotted into her dark hair, while the other ran down her back, pulling her body tightly against his as their lips moved easily and perfectly against each other's.

Ezra slowly sucked on her bottom lip as he kissed her tenderly, loving how her body melted to form against his. His tongue gently slid across her lip, silently asking for permission which she eagerly granted to him. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, finding hers and sliding over it. Their tongues began to battle as their kisses turned more passionate, and they both stumbled backwards until Aria's back hit her front door. Ezra pushed her up against it, causing them both to moan at the feeling of their bodies moving against one another's. They continued to kiss hungrily, pulling at each other and trying to get as close as humanly possible.

Aria's fingers tangled into his dark locks as she pulled herself up, propping herself against him as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He groaned, unable to stop himself from pushing his hips against hers, causing her to moan in response.

The need to breath was quickly becoming evident for both of them, and they reluctantly pulled away from each other to gasp down air. Their eyes found each other's, and they both remembered where they were. Ezra set her back down onto the ground. Aria continued to rest against the door, unable to feel anything but the fire sensation burning through her body.

They continued to stare at each other, still trying to catch their breath.

Though through his ragged breathing, Ezra was able to make out two words.

"Holy crap."

**Author's Notes:**

**Yay chapter four! I hope you guys liked it; please review and let me know what you thought!**

**I'm going to try to get the next chapter up really soon. The writing for it has already been started, so hopefully you'll see it within the next week.**

**I love all of you so much, and thanks again for all the support! : )**


	5. And The Fever Begins To Spread

**Chapter 5**

"_Holy Crap."_

The two words floated through the air after they fell from Ezra's lips, echoing through the silence that followed. The space surrounding them was thick, but it was not awkward. Aria gazed up at him, looking through his eyes to find any amount of regret, and she was flooded with relief when she didn't find any.

"I…" Ezra breathed, trailing off with a loss of words. The fogginess in his head and the burning distraction in his lips prevented him from thinking clearly.

Aria nodded, losing all train of thought after seeing the lust and acceptance in his eyes. She hummed, reaching up on her toes to touch her lips to his again.

Ezra lifted his fingers to her chin, tilting her head up to press his lips more firmly to hers. His other hand lingered on her slender waist, while her hands rested along the base of his neck. They kissed slowly, savoring, as if to make up for all kisses missed since that very first day they met.

She broke apart from him after a few moments; eyes closed and a small smile pleated on her face. She basked in the feeling of his lips gently running along her cheek and jaw, as lightly as a feather. They stayed there like that; her face tucked into his chest while he slowly traced her skin, until the sound of a car moving far too fast down the road and coming closer caught their attention.

Ezra pulled away from her as her head lifted up, and her eyes widened as she watched her mother's car take a sharp turn into the driveway before slamming on the breaks, causing the vehicle to jolt into a sudden stop. The driver's side flew open and Ella stepped out, slamming it shut behind her before marching towards the steps.

Aria caught the mixed look of hurt and anger in her eyes, as she came up beside them, digging through her pocket for her keys.

"Mom?" She asked hesitantly, looking at her mother in concern.

Ella plastered on a fake smile and looked up. "Hi, sweetie."

She was so distracted by whatever was bothering her that she hadn't even seemed to notice Ezra standing there, which caught Aria's attention even more.

She was about to question what was going on, before her thoughts were answered when her father's truck pulled up behind Ella's, and he got out, looking tired and worn down.

Her mother pushed through the door of the house, Byron following quickly behind her.

"Ella, wait, let's talk about this." He started, following her into the living room.

Ella huffed, turning to look at him. "She lives in this town; I have to see her, I have to talk to her – I befriended this woman!" She paced in front of him, her hands moving around in expression of her anger.

Byron shook his head. "Ella, trust me, it is over –"

"Trust you?!" Ella interrupted in disbelief, her face showing her strongest emotions of pain and outraged disbelief.

"She means nothing to me!" He exclaimed. "And I'm not going to let her take away from me what matters most."

Aria slowly inched into the doorway, leaning against the frame to support herself as she watched in concern and heartache as her parents continued in their argument. That's all they had been doing lately – fighting; and it seemed like it was only getting worse.

She could vaguely feel Ezra come up behind her, watching the scene as well, and he reached out to softly press his fingers to her lower back, silently asking if she was okay. She ignored it, focusing on the action in front of her.

"And what is it that matters most to you, because clearly it is not us." Ella asked, angry tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Just listen, okay?" Byron moved to try and look her in the eyes, but she kept moving away from him, unable to keep her gaze on him. "You want me to find another job? Teaching at a different college? Huh? Do you want to pick up and move again because I will; I'll do that."

Ella turned to look at him sharply, realization settling in her features. "Is that what Iceland was all about?"

"Yeah," Byron exclaimed. "In a way it was. Because I wanted things to be the way things used to be with us."

Aria watched as her mother moved to pick up a picture of the four of them on a glacier in Iceland off the coffee table and hold it up to him.

"And how was that? Me looking like a complete and total idiot, because look at this. Look at this stupidly, happy woman, standing next to her _loving _husband." She spat sarcastically. "What am I supposed to do with all these family photos of all our romantic trips of fraud!"

Ella chucked the picture to the side, and Aria watched as it slammed onto the floor, shattering into small pieces. She jumped at the sound, shrinking back slightly and gasping quietly in shock. Water began to cloud her eyes, but she blinked away the tears, refusing to let them fall. Ezra's fingers pressed more firmly against her back, worry enhanced on his features. He knew this was crushing her, and he was in disbelief himself at seeing this kind of sight – something he hadn't seen since his experience with his own parents.

"Stop it!" Byron shouted, holding out his hand as his shoulders tensed in frustration. "What happened with her was a mistake." He declared firmly.

Ella looked at him in disgust. "What I know, is that you used our daughter to hide this from me."

Aria looked down, her bottom lip tucking out slightly as she fought to keep control of her emotions.

"How could you do that to her?" Ella cried, shaking her head. "I don't even know who you are!"

Byron closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I panicked. I thought I didn't have another choice. I was scared – I was afraid I would lose you."

Ella's lips curled into a scowl, tears brimming her eyes. "You just might." With that, she pushed past him, slowly making her way up the stairs. A few moments later, the slamming of the bedroom door was heard.

Aria inhaled a shaky breath, trying to comprehend what just occurred. It has hard to wrap her head around what was happening when she had just had one of the greatest moments of her life, followed by something so painful and heartbreaking.

Ezra's touch was finally acknowledged as she slowly turned her head to look at him. His heart broke at the look on her face - pure and utter distress.

"You should probably go." She whispered, so quietly he barely heard her.

He opened his mouth the respond, but Byron walked through the entryway, and having not noticed him until now either, gave him a questioning look as to why he was here.

"I-I was just here to further go over next week's assignments, but I'm sure that can wait until tomorrow." He covered quickly.

Bryon nodded, sighing as he continued to walk into the kitchen.

Ezra looked down again at Aria, and he hesitantly lifted his fingers to brush a stray tear from her cheek.

"Are you okay here?" He whispered quietly, making sure only she could hear him.

She nodded, swallowing hard. "I'll be fine."

"Text me, okay?"

She nodded again, watching as he slowly retreated back to his car. He looked back at her, not wanting to leave her alone right now, which she knew. He smiled slightly, before getting into the driver's seat and driving away from the house.

Aria sighed, wiping at her cheeks before picking her bag off up the ground and walking into the house. She watched her father come back into the room with a dust pan and broom, and he because to sweep up the glass covering the floor. He noticed her gaze and looked up at her.

"Look, don't worry about this." He told her softly. "Everything's going to be okay."

"You think you're going to get her trust back?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.

He sighed. "I'm going to pick up the pieces and put them back together. For everything. Everything's going to be normal again eventually."

Aria knew he was talking about more than just the broken glass on the floor, and she laughed humorously, shaking her head at him.

"You know, you're only right about one thing. Trust and glass do have something in common." She said, heading for the stairs. Before she started up, she turned back to look at him. "Once you shatter it, you can try to glue it back together all you want. But it's always going to have the cracks; it's never going to be the same again."

With that, she left her father standing there in the hallway, going up to her room and locking herself in for the night.

* * *

The period bell rang throughout the school, interrupting Aria's French teacher's speech as all students jumped up to leave the building. Aria sighed, collecting her books and exiting the classroom. She walked down the hall towards her locker, putting in the correct combination and opening the small door, and grabbing the binders she would need for tonight.

She was moving sluggishly; too exhausted to function correctly.

Last night after locking herself in her room, Aria was still upset over the fight her parents had. It made it hard for her to fall asleep. And when she couldn't fall asleep at night, her mind tended to drift to… her past.

What she had done.

Ezra texted her as he promised he would, but she couldn't concentrate enough to form the right responses to him, so she ended up just telling him she was tired and going to sleep. _What a joke._

Aria shook her head, closing her locker. She looked up as she heard a pair of heels clank against the hallway floor coming towards her.

"Hey," Hanna greeted, twining her arm through Aria's as the two started out of the building. "I never got the chance to ask you how you're weekend was."

Aria shrugged. "It was fun."

Hanna snorted. "Believe me, Spencer told me how much _fun _you and Ezra had. I want details!"

"What kind of details?" She asked, fighting back a smile.

"Did you kiss?"

Aria didn't respond, the smile tugging slowly on her lips.

"Oh my God!" Hanna gasped. "You did! Tell me everything! Was it amazing? Was he sweet and gentle, or did he finally give into the urge to jump your bones and go for it?"

Aria giggled, shaking her head. "Sort of the last one, but not quite as far as you wish he did."

She squealed, hugging her tiny friend quickly and making her laugh again.

"I'm so happy for you! Oh, when Spencer finds out about this she won't be as pleased. Of course she'll be happy for you, too, but now she owes Harry."

Aria's eyebrows knotted together. "Harry?"

"Is that not his name?" Hanna asked, tilting her head to the side. "Ezra's friend – the one that went with you."

"Oh, you mean Hardy."

"Yes, that's it!"

"What does Spencer owe him for?"

Hanna shrugged, pulling her down the left sidewalk instead of the right that led home. The two of them had walked to school today and planned on walking back together, too.

"The two of them made a bet on when you and Ezra would finally kiss." Hanna explained. "Hardy's bet was that it would be before the weekend ended. Looks like he won."

Aria snorted, shaking her head again.

"I'm not surprised though," Hanna continued. "I can't believe Spencer went up as high as a week! Did she really expect you two to wait that long? I mean, a person can only deal with so much sexual frustration for so long."

"Hanna!" Aria laughed, a blush filling her cheeks.

Her friend smirked, shrugging. "What?"

"Stop!"

"I'll stop if you look me in the eye and tell me straight on that you haven't wanted to kiss him… I'd say from the first time you met him."

When Aria didn't respond, Hanna smiled triumphantly. "See? I'm right."

Aria smiled, before changing the subject. "Where are we going, by the way?"

"Well, I'm meeting Emily at the Grill. Feel free to join us when you're done doing whatever it is that you're going to do, but don't worry. I won't be offended if you don't show." She playfully nudged Aria's shoulder, before slipped her arm out of hers and continuing down the street alone.

Aria was about to respond in question before she finally took in her surroundings and realized she was standing in front of the entrance for Hollis College. She smiled slightly, walking into the building.

* * *

Ezra gripped the coffee in his hand, taking a sip. He was walking back from to his office from his lecture hall having just finished a class. It was one of the joint classes he had with Byron, and he definitely noticed the change in attitude. The man wasn't concentrated and in the right head zone, so Ezra had basically taken over running the class for today.

Watching Aria's parents fight was shocking for him. He hadn't witnessed something like that since his own parent's disputes – over ten years ago. He winced at the memories for the causes of the fights, pushing them towards the back of his mind.

As he continued walking, he noticed a tiny brunette walking a few paces in front of him. With the eye catching pink dress she was wearing with the chucky boots on her feet, he immediately knew who it was.

He smirked, taking a moment to look at the way the dress hugging her figure. His eyes raked down her body, lingering on her small waist accentuated by a thin brown belt, and he shamelessly stared at the part of her body that lay _below _waist. He bit his lip, continuing down her creamy legs.

Once she got close to his office door, he quickened his pace until he was directly behind her. His arms snaked around her waist, being careful of the coffee in his hand, and he pressed his cheek against hers.

Aria gasped slightly, before relaxing back into his body. She smiled up at him, running her hands along his forearms softly. Spying the coffee cup in his hand, she put her hand over heart dramatically.

"A coffee? For me? Aww, you shouldn't have." She expressed sarcastically, giggling as she rested her head back on his shoulder.

He smiled, kissing her cheek softly. "Sorry, sweetheart. I would have gotten you one if I knew you were coming. This one's straight black."

She tilted her head farther back, brushing her lips along the top of his jaw. "It's okay."

He hummed, opening his office door and leading her in. Once inside with the door closed, Aria turned around in his arms, wrapping her own under his shoulders. He looked down at her and smiled, leaning down to press his lips against hers. She moaned quietly in approval, tilting her head further up to meet his.

Ezra pulled away before things got too intense, and brushed a stand of hair out of her face. He couldn't get over how beautiful she was, and the urge to resume their kissing and never stop was strong.

The fact that she was biting her lip didn't help.

"So," He asked, shaking himself away from those thoughts. "How's your day going?"

Aria shrugged. "Good – now." She snuggled herself further into his chest, sighing as her eyes closed. A large yawn shortly followed.

"Are you tired?" Ezra asked softly, rubbing his hands up and down her back soothingly.

She nodded, and he led her over to the couch. He sat down first before pulling her into his lap and lying back against the cushions. Aria lounged across his chest, nuzzling her face into his neck.

"Not get enough sleep?" He questioned.

"No, I couldn't."

He sighed, rubbing her back again. "Was it because of your parents?"

She shrugged. "Kind of."

"Alison?"

Aria's eyes shot open, and she hesitated for a moment. "N-no, not really." She cursed herself for stuttering; hoping Ezra wouldn't catch it and would drop the conversation. Talking about Alison was physically painful. It ripped at her chest and made her head pound when the thoughts and memories started. It was too much for her too handle.

_Wow, what a change._

"I heard her parents sold the house and a new family moved in."

Aria nodded. "Yeah, my friend Emily is becoming friends with the girl who lives there; Maya."

"It's understandable, I guess. The house must hold too many painful memories."

_I know the feeling._ Aria nuzzled further into him, reclosing her eyes.

"Sorry." He murmured. "I'll let you nap."

"Thank you."

He kissed her hairline, continuing to trace the circuit he had formed on her back. Aria sighed, squinting her eyes closed and trying to keep the nightmarish thoughts pushed out of her head. She focused on the feel of Ezra's fingers along her body, and soon felt sleep over take her.

* * *

It felt like her eyes had only been closed for a few moments when she first felt Ezra gently nudge her back into consciousness.

"Hey, you." He whispered soothingly. He was leaning over her, softly caressing her face with his hand. After she had fallen asleep for a while, he had carefully maneuvered himself from underneath her to finish up the work he had to do before going home for the evening.

Aria moaned quietly, rolling over and pressing her cheek into the cushion of the couch. Ezra chuckled, leaning down to kiss the spot below her ear.

"Hey, beautiful. Wake up sweetheart." He murmured.

Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks for a moment, before her eyes slowly opened. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, until her eyes found his.

"Hey." Ezra smiled. "I finished up all my work and I'm going to start heading home. It's just after four thirty."

Aria sighed sleepily, nodding her head as she reluctantly pushed herself up into a sitting position. She looked up as he offered a hand to her, and she gratefully accepted it. He pulled her up from the couch until she was standing, before his hands slid down to her waist.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, I don't really have anything going on tonight. If you wanted to, you could come over to my place… I could make you one of the three meals I actually know how to cook."

His voice was nervous and anxious, which caused a small smile to spread along Aria's face. The fact that he was so jittery, as if she would actually say no because she didn't want to spend time with him doing things like having diner, was adorable. She loved how nervous she could make him.

The corners of her mouth slipped down a bit though when she realized that she couldn't. "I would absolutely love to, but I can't tonight. I have to go home and catch up on some work for school, make sure my parents don't kill each other, and check up on Mike."

Ezra nodded, hoping that his disappointment didn't show through his expression. Aria caught it through his eyes, though.

She tilted her head to the side, biting down on her bottom lip. "Rain check?"

He smiled at her, nodding his head and lowering his forehead down to hers. "Rain check."

"Good." She giggled, rising up on her toes to capture his lips with hers. Ezra's arms wound around her waist, tightening to pull her closer to him. Aria laughed again as he began to kiss down her neck, nipping playfully at the skin there as he traveled down. She sighed, knowing that she had to pull away before things got carried away. Even though they were finally giving in to their emotions, she was still waiting for the two of them to completely crack and, as Hanna or Spencer would say, attack each other. The attraction was still too strong and overpowering.

She reluctantly pulled away from him, smiling at the pout on his face. Pushing back the hair that had fallen along his forehead, she gently leaned up to kiss him one last time, before muttering a goodbye which he returned.

She grabbed her bag off the floor and walked over to the office door. Looking over her shoulder one last time, she gave him a small smile before exiting into the hallway and heading home.

* * *

The sun was still shining brightly in Rosewood as Aria made her way home, but the fact that fall was beginning was slowly starting to make its presence known. A gentle breeze brushed along her body and caressed her legs, making her wrap her arms along her torso to obtain as much body heat as she could.

She was passing a small coffee shop only a few blocks from her house when she suddenly bumped into a man, causing her to stumble backwards slightly.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." She apologized quickly, looking up at the traffic she had walked into.

She was met with a pair a steely, dark eyes that looked at her intensely, before a sense of acknowledgement seemed to settle into his sharp features.

"Aria." He spoke with certainty. "Aria Montgomery."

Aria looked at the man in confusion, trying to figure out how he knew her and whether or not she knew him. He was dressed in an expensive, tailored gray suit, and had short blond hair that pushed back slightly with the breeze. She was about to question who he was when her eyes caught on the gun and badge that were strapped around his waist, and her eyes widened slightly.

"Um," She stuttered out. "Yes?"

"I'm Detective Wilden; one of the lead investigators in the Dilaurentis case." He pulled a card out of his pocket, handing it to her. She took it into her eyes, gazing down for a moment to see that it was his business card before her eyes returned to his.

"I understand you were good friends with the victim?" He asked, tilting his head.

She nodded, her eyebrows pushed together slightly. "Yeah, I was."

There was a feeling brewing in her stomach that made her feel queasy and something in her head that seemed to be screaming at her that this was dangerous and she should run right now. But she also knew she couldn't run, she could only stand there and let the fear and nerves eat away at her insides.

"I'm going to need to talk to you soon." He told her.

"I gave my statement along with my friends when Ali first went missing." Aria replied to him.

He nodded, keeping his eyes locked onto hers. "And I intend to go over your statements with each of you, personally."

"Why? Nothing's changed. If anything I could probably only tell you less now that what I could before, seeing as how it's been a year."

Aria continued to push the situation, knowing she should shut her mouth before she ended up sounding like she was guilty. She internally snorted and slapped herself for that thought. All she could do was hope whatever guilt she had wasn't showing on her face as she spoke now.

"Well, maybe you've remembered something. Like you said, you have had a year to think about it." He insisted, taking a step closer.

"…Right."

"After all, all details are extremely important now," He informed her, his eyes squinting slightly as he continued to stare at her. "As this is no longer a missing person's investigation… it's a murder."

Aria shifted uncomfortably underneath his scrutinizing gaze, but she refused to let her demeanor fall.

"And rest assured, I will find out what happened that summer." His gaze, if possible, became even more intense as he made it clear to her that what he said was a promise he would keep.

Aria watched as he nodded and finally turned to walk away, her stomach twisted into large, nauseous knots and her mouth parted slightly at his words. She felt her chest clench together, and she felt like her insides were being crushed.

_Does he know about-_

She immediately cut herself off. Of course he couldn't. How could he?

It was just her luck that Jenna picked that moment to walk past her, that damn stick clicking away on the pavement floor in front of her.

Aria watched Jenna cross the sidewalk until she reached a car and driver waiting for her. The man opened the door for her, and she slowly folded up that cane and slid into the cab.

As it drove away, her eyes drifted to Wilden, who continued down the walk away from her. He stopped at the corner and turned around to give her one final look, before turning the bend and leaving her standing there in intolerable fear, wondering how true he would keep to his promise.

Aria's breath caught and her chest clenched even tighter to the point where she felt like she couldn't even breath as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

She shut her eyes, knowing what was coming but wishing it not to be true.

With shaky fingers, she slowly pulled her phone out and tapped on the screen. It lit up with an all too familiar new message from a blocked number. She knew this routine, of course she did. It was one of the most familiar things to her, but she never thought she would experience it like _this._

"_I'm still here, bitch. _

_And I know everything. –A."_

Aria's head quickly shot up and she looked around her, looking for a sign of anyone that could be watching her.

_How do they know? Who could know? The only person who _could_ was… Alison. But she's –_

Dead.

She breathed in unevenly, quickly shutting off her phone and shoving it into her bag. She never thought something like this would happen. It wasn't possible for anyone to know about what happened. Right?

She shook her head. This wasn't something she could let get to her. If it did, all would go to hell and blow up in flames. She had to be careful. And careful she would be.

After all, she knew how this game was played.

**Author's Notes:**

**Ahh, before you all scream and kill me, I am soooo sorry. I was on vacation for these last few weeks and wasn't able to bring my computer. I know, I know, I'm sorry.**

**Anyways, if you're still reading this story, I know it's getting pretty confusing. There are a lot of things that aren't being said yet that hold a main focus to the plot of this story, and unfortunately, they cannot be said yet.**

** I've been reading some of your questions, and here are the ones that I CAN answer.**

**1. Yes, there is something about Aria that you guys do not know about yet. **

**2. Her secret is BIG, and extremely dangerous if anyone finds out about it.**

**3. Of course you will find out what's going on, but not for a few more chapters ; ) (even though I get the feeling some of you are going to be able to guess it soon).**

**4. This story is rated M for future chapters. Believe me when I say even though things are easy now, they won't be for long.**

**5. Updates will be coming faster, I PROMISE! This summer has just been pretty insane for me so far.**

**I love you all so much, and I thank you to the moon and back if you stuck with this story. I know it's been a crazy ride, and I'm sorry. xxxx**


	6. From My Heart Down To My Legs

**Chapter 6**

The lunch room at Rosewood Day was packed with hungry and boisterous teenagers as Aria entered it. Everyone was talking to their peers, using the free period from sitting in long, forty-five minute classes to socialize and release their held in energy.

Aria spotted Hanna, Spencer and Emily sitting at their table. It had always been their table since their first day of high school. Ali had picked it, and no one but the five of them had sat there all freshman year.

Things had been a lot different with the five of them than with a normal group of friends. But that was mostly due to Alison. You had to be accepted by her to be deemed worthy of being in her presence, and even then, it was like you had to work to impress her. It sounded bitchy to her now, but Alison had always had a way to make you feel… special.

As she reached the table, Aria sat down in one of the, now four, chairs there and smiled at the girls.

"Hey." She greeted them, and they all echoed her with smiles of their own.

She listened to them talk about the homecoming dance coming up soon, giving her opinion on the colors and styles of each of the dresses they were all thinking about wearing.

Emily seemed to be staring off into space, but as Aria followed her gaze, she noticed her looking at the girl who had moved into Ali's old house. Maya. She watched as Maya returned her gaze, and the two shared a knowing smile, before Emily turned away.

The other two girls were oblivious to the silent interaction, but Aria caught it. She seemed to always catch things like that; little things that she shouldn't. But she had always felt like she had been the closest to Alison, and she had certainly taught her well.

"Aria."

Spencer's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned her head towards her friend. "Hmm?"

"Noel Kahn is staring at you." She informed her, glancing behind her again.

Aria turned in her chair slightly, looking over her shoulder towards the table that the football team usually sat at. Her eyes caught Noel's striking blue ones, and he gave her a confident smile. She gave him a small, fake one back before turning back towards her group of friends.

"Weird." She muttered.

"I heard that he likes you." Spencer told her.

Hanna snorted. "Wow. You crushed on him all through freshman year, and he finally decides to give you the time of day – two years later." She rolled her eyes. "Ass."

Aria shrugged. She had in fact used to like Noel. He was that gorgeous, charming, dangerous boy that drew in all the girls. Of course she had fallen for him. Unfortunately, the feelings hadn't been mutual.

"Well," Hanna continued, a smirk covering her features. "He missed his chance, and one of the best girls he could have ever gotten. Now, you've moved on to bigger, better, and _older _things."

Spencer and Emily giggled while Aria rolled her eyes, but a smile pulled along her face.

"How are things going with you two, anyways?" Emily asked.

Aria shrugged, her smile growing. "Good."

"Just good?"

Biting on her lip, she thought of Ezra, with his deep eyes and his curly hair, and that adorable smile that would spread across his face when he saw her. "It's… _really _good."

The girls all laughed at her expression. With the smirk set on her face, Aria could already tell what was coming from Hanna.

"So…" She started. "Have you two gotten…_ frisky_ yet?"

"Hanna!" Aria laughed. "We've only been officially seeing each other for two days."

"Okay, okay, fine."

The conversation dropped as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The four of them stood from the table, giving their goodbyes as they headed to their next classes.

Aria made her way to her locker, which, unfortunately was across the school from her next class. She fumbled with the combination, growing frustrated when it remained locked. She tried again, sighing as it finally opened and grabbing the books and binders she would need. She stuffed them into her backpack and closed her locker door.

She hurriedly made her way to class, and, not watching where she was going, bumped into someone, causing her to stumble backwards.

_I've got to stop doing this_. She thought to herself as she lifted her eyes. Her breath caught slightly in her throat as she looked up and found a familiar pair of eyes looking back at her.

"What are you doing here?"

He smiled sarcastically. "Nice to see you again, too."

Aria fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing it would do her no help in the long run. This person had a lot of reasons to hate her, and a lot of things to hold over her head. She didn't want to get on his bad side, even more than she already was.

"Sorry." She murmured. "I just meant… I don't really see you around that much, anymore."

He snorted. "Yeah, well, I've been gone for a while."

She nodded, lowering her gaze. "…But you're back now." It wasn't a question; she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, I am."

Her eyes rose back to his, searching for anything that would give away what he was thinking. She sighed when she found something.

Clearing her throat, she gestured behind him. "Well, I should… probably get to class."

He nodded. "See you around… Aria."

She smiled meekly, turning and watching him walk past her and down the hall. She pulled in a deep breath, as if to regain what strength she had, and shook her head to herself as the fact sunk into her head.

Toby Cavanaugh was back.

xxx

Sighing in relief as the warm coffee slid down and soothed his sore throat, Ezra set his portable coffee mug onto his desk as he continued to look over the scattered papers that he called his lesson plans.

All of his classes were had been in the morning and were now over for the day, but he was staying after due to the fact he was swamped with papers to grade and classes to align.

Sighing in frustration as he read yet another paper which held a small amount of supporting facts or details to prove that the student didn't actually read the given material, he sat back and his eyes drifted to the small TV that was running in the corner of the room.

A picture of a young blonde covered it, and the name in the bottom right hand corner caught his eye.

Alison Dilaurentis.

Quickly grabbing the remote, Ezra turned up the volume to a suitable amount and tried to clue in on what he had missed.

"_It has been three weeks since the funeral of Alison Dilaurentis; the fifteen year old girl who went missing in the late of summer one year ago, and whose body was recently found, buried in her own backyard. While police and investigators won't give out much information on this case, it has been confirmed that the young girl was murdered around the time she first disappeared. _

_No names have been given, but we do know that police are cracking down on some of the already presumed suspects, and family and friends of the deceased are being questioned to further the investigation._

_Stay tuned for more news on the Dilaurentis case."_

Shaking his head as the screen cut to commercials, Ezra pressed the power button and watched the TV switch to black.

The fact that family and friends were being questioned made him think to Aria. She was one of Alison's best friends. Had she been interrogated by the police? She never mentioned anything about the situation to him, and he never brought it up either in fear that he would say the wrong thing.

He wasn't completely blind to the situation. There were times when it was like Aria was in a completely different world; one nobody else could enter. She would be distant, jumpy, and sometimes she would even look frightened.

Pushing her to open up was not an option though. He knew the death of someone close to you was a terrible thing to deal with, and with Alison's body only just being discovered after a year of wonder, and possibly false hope that she could still be alive somewhere, he wasn't too shocked that the situation sometimes overwhelmed her.

But he knew she would come to him when, and if, she was ready. He wouldn't rush whatever process she needed to go through, and he would always be a source of comfort for her if she ever needed it.

Even with all that said though, Ezra couldn't help the nagging curiosity to learn more about the famous Alison Dilaurentis.

xxx

"_Aria Montgomery, please report to the office at this time."_

Aria's head lifted from her desk at the sound of her name over the loud speaker. Capping her pen and closing her book, she silently packed all of her papers into her book bag, ignoring the stares from her peers as she stood and quickly made her way out the door of the classroom.

She walked the short distance from her math class to the main office, opening the door and walking up to the front desk. The receptionist, who was chatting aimlessly with the corded phone glued to her ear, looked up at her in annoyance for a moment, before pointing to the conference room to her right.

Rolling her eyes, Aria walked over to the room, peering inside for a moment. She hesitated before knocking, the realization of what she could be down here for hitting her like a ton of bricks.

Her breath caught as her eyes caught on the familiar style of a well-tailored, dark grey suit which was matched with a head of blond locks.

Looking up from the papers in his hand, Detective Wilden set the papers down onto the table and motioned for Aria to come farther into the room. She gulped unconsciously, slowly walking over to the couch lined against the windows of the far wall, setting her bag on the floor as she sat down.

"Ah, Miss Montgomery, we meet again as promised." He greeted in a gravelly voice, shooting her a professional smile as he closed the door, secluding them in the small room.

"So we do." She responded. Her stomach was beginning to twist in a familiar, uncomfortable way as she processed the reasons as to why this meeting could be being held, trying desperately to come up with a reasonable one that wasn't what she assumed it to be.

Unfortunately, only that one seemed to fit.

"What's this about, may I ask?" she continued, smoothing her hands down her skirt anxiously, and began to fiddle with a loose string along the hem.

Detective Wilden moved to lean against the table across from her, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just need to ask you a few questions about Alison's disappearance."

She nodded her head, swallowing hard as she fought to keep her emotions in check. "Okay."

He nodded as well, picking up some of the papers on the table besides him. "Can you start off by telling me again what happened the night of Alison's disappearance?"

Aria cleared her thought, her mind immediately going into concentration mode. She knew what to say; she had said it many times before. "It was the last night of summer break before school started again, so Ali wanted to have a sleepover. Spencer's barn was always the best place to have them, so that's where we were."

"We: being you, Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields and Alison?" Wilden asked, glancing down at his papers.

"Yes."

"Continue."

"We hung out in the barn for a few hours, just talking about the summer and what we thought school would be like that year. We all fell asleep, and the next time we woke up, Alison was gone."

He nodded, his eyes dancing across her face. "And you said you heard her scream?"

"Yes, I said that." She said quickly.

"The other three girls woke up in the barn, and both you and Alison weren't there." He stated, egging her to continue.

"I woke up before them." She told him. "I noticed Ali wasn't there so I-"

"Went looking for her." He concluded her sentence, tossing the papers onto the table again.

Aria smiled stiffly. "That's what happened."

"Yeah, I got that." He said, standing up and began to pace slightly in front of her.

Aria digested the way he was staring at her, and she felt her nerves and defense get the better of her. "Is this an interrogation?"

He shook his head. "No, just a routine follow up."

"But I told you everything that happened when Alison went missing." She said tensely. "If you already know all of this, why are you asking me all the same questions again?"

He stopped pacing and turned to look at her clearly. "Because you know, it's almost exactly what you said last year. Almost like it was rehearsed."

Aria could physically feel her body tense, and she prayed it wasn't noticeable. The air around her felt like it was become thick and hard to breathe through. She wiped her hands long her skirt, trying to get rid of any moisture that had built on her palms.

"I told you everything I know." She stuttered out.

Wilden looked down at the ground, shaking his head before returning his gaze to hers. "That will be all for today then, Miss Montgomery."

She nodded and hastily grabbed her bag, making her way to the door.

"And Aria," She heard behind her, causing her to pause. She kept her back to him, fearful of what her face could be revealing at this moment.

"I'll be talking to you again, soon."

She lifted her chin as she pulled in a shaky breath, and opened the door, exiting the office without a glance back.

xxx

Standing at her locker and packing up her things to head home for the day, Aria felt as if her insides were split in two and fighting each other.

_He knows I'm lying. _One side would say, causing her heart to flutter erratically at the possibility, before the other side would punch back.

_There's no way he could know. I'm an amazing liar; always have been. I learned from the best. _

She decided to listen to the second side, because she knew that she _was_ in fact a good liar. While her insides would always become jumbled up when she was nervous, a lie would slip easily and clearly from between her lips, and it was always believable.

That's how she got away with as much as she did.

Sighing as she placed the last binder onto the shelf, she was about to close the locker door before a pink note taped onto the inside of it caught her eye.

Her brows furrowed as she pulled it off, opening it up and reading it to herself.

"_If only they all knew how guilty you really are._

_-A"_

Her eyes widened, and she looked around her quickly to see if anyone was watching her to catch her reaction as she read it.

Everyone had either already left, or was otherwise preoccupied though, and she crumbled up the note, stuffing it down to the bottom of her bag.

Closing her locker, she started down the hall, ready to just go home and get the day over with.

"Aria!"

She glanced behind her, seeing Spencer rush to catch up with her. When she did, she linked her arm through hers, smiling brightly. "Hey."

"Hey." Aria replied, sighing slightly.

Spencer caught on to her mood and looked at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and looked up at her friend, when a realization came to her.

All of them had been friends with Ali, and they all had done and participated in some of the evil things Ali had done while she was still alive. If the anonymous person was only doing this as a joke or to get revenge for all the things Alison had done, they wouldn't just target her. They would go after all of them.

She contemplated what to say for a moment. "Spence, has anything… weird been happening to you lately?"

She watched her reaction closely, looking for any sign that Spencer was getting the texts and notes, too.

Spencer's eyebrows scrunched together. "No… I don't think so. What do you mean?"

Aria looked at the blank expression on her face, and sighed internally. She had always been able to read Spencer's face and emotions, and right now she wasn't showing any signs that she had been under distress lately.

"I just meant have the police been asking you any questions lately." She covered quickly and smoothly. "When I got called down to the office earlier, it was to answer some questions for one of the detectives on her case."

"No; not yet at least." Spencer told her. "But don't worry about it. My mom said they would probably do it just to get more information now that they know she was murdered."

Aria nodded her head, looking forward as they reached the parking lot.

"I think things are finally getting better though." Spencer said after a moment. Aria looked up at her in confusion.

"I just mean, before we were always wondering if one day, she would just show up. Now that we know she's really gone, we can start to move on. And once her murderer is found, we call all finally get some closure and peace."

Aria looked at Spencer's smiling face, and she knew right then that the other girls weren't getting any of the messages from –A. It was only her, not that she really expected it to be any different. But she had hoped.

She plastered on her winning, fake smile, and nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right. I think we could all use some peace."

Spencer laughed. "Tell me about it."

They reached their cars and dropped arms. "I gotta get home; I have so much homework." Aria told her, feigning disappointment.

"Yeah, me too. I'll see you tomorrow in English." Spencer smiled, turning to get into her car.

"See you." Aria replied, sliding in the driver's seat of her own.

She sat there for a moment, watching Spencer drive out of the parking lot, and her thoughts came flooding into her head. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she quickly turned up the radio loudly until it filled her ears completely. She tried to focus on the words and sing along as she began her drive home to distract herself.

When she finally reached her house, she shut off her car and climbed out, rushing inside and climbing the stairs two at a time. Reaching the top, she stumbled into Mike.

_So much for stopping that bad habit._

"Watch it!" He shouted, pushing past her.

She turned and looked at him incredulously, holding up her hands in defense. "I'm sorry; it was an accident, Mike. Geez."

He spun around quickly, and she shrunk back a bit at the steel and seething look that was in his eyes.

"Do you even care about what you've done?" He spat at her.

She looked at him in confusion, trying to take a step towards him, but he took another one back. "Mike, what are you talking about?"

"You broke mom and dad up! Are you happy?" He yelled in her face. "You destroyed this family!"

With that, he turned and hurried down the stairs. Aria jumped as she heard the front door slam roughly, her eyes wide in shock over what just happened. She could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, and she pulled in a shaky breath.

She heard the front door open again, softer this time.

"Aria?" The sound of her mother's voice, laced with concern, drifted up the stairs. She started down them slowly until she neared the bottom, and looked at her mother in astonishment.

"What's wrong with Mike?" Ella asked as she watched him jump onto his bike and ride away from the house, before she turned to look at Aria, catching her expression. "What's wrong with you?"

Aria's voice shook as the words she didn't want to believe pasted her lips. "Are you and dad getting a divorce?"

Ella's expression changed quickly from worried to sympathetic, and her shoulders dropped as she sighed. "Sweetie…"

"Tell me!" Aria demanded, stepping down the final steps until she stood in front of her mother.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Ella shook her head. "Not officially. I'm… just going to be moving out for a little while."

Aria felt her heart clench, and a tear slipped down her cheek against her will. "Mom, I'm so sorry I kept that secret from you. If this is because of me-"

"No, of course this is not because of you!" Ella said sternly, reaching to take Aria's hands into hers. "This is not your fault, Aria. You did what you felt was best at the time. You're father and I… I'm just going so we can have the space we need right now."

Aria's bottom lip trembled slightly, and she nodded, pulling her hands out of her mother's. "I'm sorry; I just need to process this."

She quickly turned to the door then, rushing to her car and climbing in, fighting her tears the whole way to her destination.

xxx

A small, hesitant knock filled the small one room apartment.

Ezra looked up from another paper he was grading, standing up from the chair at his desk, crossing the flat to the door.

He pulled it open, finding the petite, beautiful girl that had been clouding his thoughts for the last month, and felt his chest clench painfully as he looked at her damp eyes as they stared up at him.

"Hey," He whispered softy.

She smiled meekly in return, not able to find her voice.

His shoulders slumped. "Are you okay?"

She exhaled shakily, and shook her head as a small tear rolled down her cheek. He reached up to wipe it away gently, brushing his fingers along her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He questioned.

She shook her head again, looking up at him sadly. "Can… can we just be here, for a minute?"

Ezra nodded, smiling only slightly, before he pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his chest, and he rubbed his hands soothingly up and down her back as he rested his chin on top of her head. When he felt her begin to tremble slightly, he wrapped his right arm around her tightly while his left hand drifted up to tangle in her soft hair. He moved his lips to press against her forehead softly.

As he whispered soothing nothings into her ear and pressed tender kisses along her face as she cried into his chest, the realization of how much of a hold this tiny girl really had on him began to sink in. She had the power to break his heart with a single teardrop, and light up his world with one of her dazzling smiles. Ezra knew, with no doubt, that he was falling for her.

Right then, the memory of the sparkle of life in her eyes when he first saw her came to mind. And he promised, he would do whatever it took to bring that life back.

**Author's Notes:**

**Oh my gosh this took forever! I know that's what you're all thinking, and it's what I'm thinking, too. Believe me when I say school is whipping my butt.**

**This is definitely not my best chapter, and while I'm not completely happy with it, I needed to get something up. The next chapter is already almost completed, and one of my favorites – so far.**

**But I read a bunch of the questions you guys have been asking, so here are some of the answers!**

**1. As stated in this chapter, it is true that Aria is the only one of the girls getting messages from –A.**

**2. Noel will be a part of this story; he was introduced in this chapter, and plays a big part in the next few.**

**3. Aria's secret! Now why do ya'll think I'd just tell you what it is? You'll be getting a lot of clues, figure it out for yourself ; )**

**4. UPDATES: I always promise they'll be coming faster, and they don't because life obviously doesn't want to give me time to write. So instead of getting hopes up, I'll just tell you that I have more pieces of the story written as of right now, and the entire thing from beginning to end is mapped out. Most of the next chapter is already written. When I do find time to sit down and write, it usually flows out pretty quickly, so if I have a good amount of time, updates will come! (I have a bad habit of making myself extremely busy). But I'm really sorry!**

**I love ya'll if you're still here; if you're not, I completely understand. I love, love, love, love, LOVE all of you. Keep the questions and comments coming! Those are pretty nice, too. : )**


	7. And Although I Wasn't Losing My Mind

**Chapter 7**

The smell of Chicken Alfredo filled the air in apartment 3B, swirling into Ezra's nose as he stirred the sizzling pot on the stove. It smelt good, so he could only pray that it tasted good, too.

The sound of thunder broke through the silence that was filling the room, and he glanced over at Aria to see her in the same position as before. She was sitting on the window seat in the front of the apartment, the windows pushed open far enough that the sound of the rain hitting the metal flooring of his small balcony was clear, but not enough that the water could get inside. Her head was resting back against the wall as she looked out onto the streets below with her arms laying over her knees that were tucked up to her chest.

He had given her one of his shirts to wear, and he tried to ignore how good she looked in it, knowing know was not the time to have _those _types of thoughts. But, the shirt fell to her mid thighs, and with the way her legs were tucked up, he could tell she had decided not to wear any shorts underneath it, and it was hard to force himself _not_ to think those types of thoughts.

He turned back to the stove as he felt his eyes begin to wonder again, shaking himself out of it. The meal was done cooking – at least he hoped – so he switched off the stove and transferred the food onto two waiting plates. Grabbing two forks and a few napkins, he carried the meal over to the window seat, sitting down across from her and setting the plates down in the middle.

Aria turned to look at him as he sat down, smiling down at the food on the plate in front of her. She knew for a fact that this wasn't one of the three meals Ezra could actually cook, but she knew he was trying to be extra sweet to get her out of the depressed mood she was in.

"It smells delicious." She whispered gently as she laid her legs down in front of her and lifted her plate onto her lap.

Ezra was both grateful and disappointed, though he slapped himself for the second one, knowing it was better for him not to be tempted.

"Well, let's pray it tastes good, too." He snorted, and her smile grew.

He watched anxiously as she put some of it onto her fork and lifted it to her mouth, blowing on it for a moment before popping it in her mouth.

Immediately after taking the first bite, Aria could tell that the taste was off and there was definitely something missing from the sequence, but it wasn't terrible and the way he was looking at her with such nervousness made her hum in approval and smile rewardingly at him.

"I'd say you did pretty well, Mr. Fitz."

Ezra grinned like an idiot, proud of himself for actually accomplishing another meal. He took his own bite, and it was better than anything he had ever tried to make before, so he agreed that it went pretty well.

They ate in silence for the most part, until Ezra could see a shadow cross Aria's features again, and she set her half-finished dinner onto the floor next to her, turning to look out the window again.

Ezra's own appetite left him when he saw the expression on her face. He repeated her actions, but as he sat up, he reached across to place his hands on her hips. She looked at him curiously as he lifted her up and pulled her over to him until she was settled on his lap, straddling each of his legs. Instead of it being anything sexual though, he simply wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly against him. She sighed, laying her head down onto his shoulder.

He tilted his head down to place a light kiss on the junction of her neck and shoulder. "I don't like it when you're sad." He murmured against her skin. "It makes me sad, too."

Aria pouted and moved her head to look at him. "I don't want you to be sad because of me."

"Tell me what's wrong then," He asked as he leaned his head back against the wall, keeping his gaze on hers. "Let me help you."

She sighed, closing her eyes. "You don't deserve to feel my pain, too."

"What if I told you that I wanted to, if it meant that I could help make you happy again?"

"I'd tell you that you're crazy." She snorted. "Besides, like I said, you don't deserve the pain. I do."

"What makes you think you deserve to be unhappy?"

Aria shook her head, not responding as she buried her face underneath his neck so he couldn't see her. She needed to drop the conversation; the last thing she wanted was Ezra to get involved in what she was going through.

It wasn't that she didn't think he could help, but she knew that if he tried to, he'd only end up getting himself hurt in the end. He didn't deserve that.

She, however, deserved everything that was coming for her.

Ezra sighed when a response didn't come, and instead of pressing the subject further, he dropped his left hand down onto the floor besides them, fumbling around until his fingers curled around a small remote. He pressed the power button on the top, turning on the stereo in the room. The soft playing of a guitar began to play out of the speakers, before a raspy voice joined in for the vocals.

Aria closed her eyes again, a small smile fluttered across her face as the familiar tune reached her ears. "God, I love this song."

Her smile grew when she felt Ezra's lips touch her ear, and he softly sang along to the lyrics.

_Happiness is just outside my window._

_Would it crash, blowing 80-miles an hour? _

_Or is happiness, a little more like knocking…_

_On your door, and you just let it in?_

She giggled as he hummed along with the instrumental pause against her neck, tickling her skin softly. He smiled at the sound, before returning his mouth to its place against her ear to continue with the song.

_Happiness feels a lot like sorrow, _

_Let it be, you can't make it come or go. _

_But you are gone- not for good but for now, _

_Gone for now feels a lot like gone for good._

Tears prickled at Aria's eyes slightly, as she realized that the lyrics of the song were what he wished he could say to her in words. She inhaled a slightly shaky breath knowing that she did feel gone; out of her body, like she was watching the disaster of her life play out in front of her.

But what is she _was _gone for good?

As if he read her mind, Ezra pulled her back from his neck until he could see her face clearly. Their eyes met, and Aria's breath caught and she could feel her stomach twist again. But, this time it was a different sort of twist. It wasn't one of panic, or of fear, or of guilt. The look in his eyes made her stomach twist with a sort of passion. Excitement. _Want._

Her body moved before her brain could catch up, and soon the only thing that she could think about was the feeling of her lips on his. His tongue immediately peeked out to run across her lip, and she sighed, willingly parting her lips to grant him access. Their tongues sought out each other's carefully, but once they touched, they battled for dominance.

_Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard,_

_Happiness was never mine to hold._

Aria's hands traveled up the back of his neck until they were twisted and tangled into his hair, tugging softly and making him groan. Their lips broke when the need to breath became more evident, but Ezra's mouth didn't go far from her skin. Instead, it grazed down her neck, kissing and suckling every now and then.

As he listened to the lyrics vaguely in the background, he recalled all the times she had shamelessly teased and flirted with him before they had finally gotten together. The way she would press her body against his, brush her lips across his ear, or tell him something completely inappropriate just because she _knew _how much it affected him.

That was his Aria. The girl who was constantly filling his mind and diverting his attention. Who would be playful and splash you with soapy water while washing dishes. Who was incredibly stubborn and would argue with you forever over her opinion on a classic novel just to prove a point.

Who was unbelievably sexy and currently beginning to grind her hips down onto a very noticeable problem she herself was creating.

"You're my firecracker." He murmured gently, before kissing his way back up to her mouth. She smiled into the kiss, feeling her heart swell over his words and began moving her lips more passionately against his.

Ezra moved his hands from her hips up her sides until they rested right below her breasts. His thumbs rubbed small circles on her ribs, causing her to arch farther into his chest. She mewled slightly against his lips, silently begging him to go higher and quit teasing.

_Happiness damn near destroys you; _

_Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor. _

_So you tell yourself, that's enough for now. _

_Happiness has a violent roar._

Things were heating up quickly between the two of them. Almost too quickly, and Ezra fought to keep up. With the moans that were becoming more constant from Aria, the way her hips were dragging along his, and the groans he was trying to suppress, he knew they needed to stop soon before they did something they couldn't take back.

With that in mind, he forced himself to break away from her lips, noticing the pout that immediately formed on the as he did. He grinned, kissing her pouted lip quickly and moved away before she could deepen it again, and ran his fingers through her hair lightly to move it out of her face.

"Easy, sweetheart." He smiled softly at her.

She whined, which he ignored as he scooted the two of them down the window seat a bit so he could lean back comfortably with her lying across his chest. His eyes caught on the hem of his shirt she was wearing again, which after their activities had shifted up to her hips. He cleared his throat, pulling one of the blankets that rested on the bench over them, affectively covering his view.

Having seen his gaze, Aria grinned at him smugly. "What; did you not like the view, Mr. Fitz?"

He snorted. "I don't think _not _liking it was the problem, Miss Montgomery."

She giggled, laying her head on his shoulder and looking out at the rain that was still pouring from the sky.

Conversation flowed easily between the two of them for the next few hours when a comfortable silence wasn't needed. Ezra basked in the sight of seeing her eyes light up as they discussed their favorite books and music. The way her head would fall back slightly and her eyes would close as she laughed at something he had said, or the way she would jump when a crack of loud thunder would break through the apartment and she would blush and hide her face in his neck.

They talked about everything, from the embarrassing childhood stories they had; Ezra attempting to cook a mother's day breakfast one morning and almost burning the house down, or Aria's stuffed animal cookie monster she would sleep with tucked between her legs.

Ezra paid close attention to all the small things, like the fact that her favorite ice cream flavor was double chunk fudge brownie, or her favorite movie was The Notebook. He wanted to be able to provide her with something easily and quickly when she was having a rough day that would immediately cheer her up, or at least distract her from the harsh reality outside of his apartment walls.

The time continued to tick by as the sky got darker outside the window, and the higher the moon rose the more their conversation began to cease until the only sound was the rain continuing to hit the small balcony.

Aria watched the droplets race down the window plane, basking in the feeling of Ezra's fingers slowly running through her hair, gently massaging her scalp. She tilted her head back slightly on his shoulder, finding his eyes closed and his head rested back against a seat cushion.

She smiled at how peaceful he looked, and the fact that she hadn't thought about any of the consuming thoughts in hours hit her suddenly. Her lips parted at the realization, shock written all over her face.

How could this one person be her safe place to land; to go to when she needed to escape reality? How could he have the power to make her forget everything in her past and make her feel happier than she ever had before by just talking with her?

She shook her head slightly, closing her eyes before nestling her face into the skin of his neck. She heard Ezra hum softly, turning his head to rest against hers.

"I want you to be happy." He murmured drowsily into her hair.

She nodded, pressing a small kiss on his collarbone, pausing for a moment before continuing. "You are my happiness."

Ezra smiled lazily, pulling the blanket up farther around them before tightening his arms around her. He sighed in contentment; sleep finally taking over.

_Happiness is like the old man told me _

_Look for it, but you'll never find it all _

_Let it go, live your life and leave it _

_Then one day, wake up and she'll be home_

Aria shut the door to her locker, sighing at the fact she had to go sit through another class. The fact that it was history made it only that much worse. She hadn't been doing the work for her in class project and was really far behind. She'd been too distracted lately to concentrate on school work.

She started down the hall to the classroom, her eyes dancing around her as she did. She saw Hanna talking to Mona next to her locker, internally rolling her eyes. Mona thought that since she had lost weight over the summer, gotten a new style, and that Alison was gone, that automatically made her queen bee. _Please._

She turned a corner, finding Emily walking down the hallway in the opposite direction as her with that Maya girl. She glanced down, catching onto the way that their hands brushed against each other's with each sway of their arms. She smirked slightly; she had always been able to tell Emily wasn't as into boys as she let on when she started dating Ben. There was no way they had next like she said they did. Aria was pretty sure she even used to have a thing for Ali.

She sighed as she reached her history class and was about to walk in when a voice calling out to her made her stop in her tracks. Turning around, she spotted Noel Kahn walking towards her with that boyish smirk across his face.

"Hey." He greeted when he approached her. "I realize I didn't officially get to welcome you back to Rosewood."

She smiled. "Thanks."

He smiled, and she watched as he quickly looked her up and down for a moment before returning his eyes to hers. "So, I was wondering if you had a date to Homecoming yet?"

"Not exactly." She told him hesitantly, sensing what was coming.

He grinned widely. "Perfect. Well, why don't you go with me?" He held up two tickets that he had pulled out of his pocket.

She shifted on her feet. "I don't know what my boyfriend would think about me going to homecoming with another guy."

"Boyfriend, huh? I thought you said you didn't have a date?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Shaking her head, she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't. Homecoming just isn't really his thing."

Actually, Aria was the one who wasn't feeling Homecoming. The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was going to watch everyone get drunk and fall on their asses; the girls crying randomly and making fools of themselves and the guys thinking they're the sun and everything revolves around them, moving on from girl to girl. And dragging Ezra into that mix was definitely not on her to do list.

Noel nodded, but the look of determination didn't leave his eyes. "Well, just because it's not his thing doesn't mean you shouldn't go."

Aria opened her mouth to respond, but sensing her further refusal, he continued. "It's not a date. We can just go as friends."

She sighed. "I don't know…"

"Look, we're both going to need someone to dance with, right? It's better than standing by the fruit punch watching some kid eventually end up spiking it with alcohol. And I promise I'll make it fun. Believe me, you have no idea of any of the moves I behold."

He started to sway from side to side slightly, his head rolling around on his shoulders. Aria giggled, looking at him carefully. His intensions seemed harmless, and while he was pushy, she thought it was kind of sweet in a way.

"Fine." She finally responded. "But only as friends."

Noel grinned largely, giving her a quick nod. "Of course." He bent over in a bow, holding up the ticket in front of him in a cheesy, grand gesture. "For my lady-non-date."

She slapped his arm playfully, taking the ticket out of his hand. "Why thank you, oh romantic one."

"That's what they call me." He straightened up, the smile still plastered onto his face. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at eight."

Aria nodded. "Eight's good."

He said goodbye, and she watched him walk down the hallway away from her.

Noel Kahn had always been the one she wanted. But, unfortunately, he was always the unattainable one. There had always been another girl in his life, and even though she had been friends with Ali at the time – which put her on a pedestal – Ali always stood higher than the rest of them. She had been like the brightest star who outshined even the closest to her. While everyone knew who the other four of them were, it was impossible not to know Alison's name. Even though she treated everyone like crap, they all seemed to still want to be her friend.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Aria walked into her history class. She walked down the middle aisle, taking her seat next to Hanna in the back who was currently staring at her phone with an odd expression.

"You okay?" She asked, pulling out her binders.

"Are you going to Homecoming with Noel?" Hanna asked, lifting her head from its position to look at her friend.

Aria stared at her in bewilderment. "How did you know that? He asked me like five seconds ago."

"Sean texted me."

"Oh."

Hanna sighed. "What about Fitz?"

Aria rolled her eyes. "We're just going as friends, Han. He's not a threat to Ezra. Not by a long shot."

"Why would you want to go with that douchebag anyways, though?" Hanna pushed. "He never spared you a single glance freshman year, and the only reason he is now is because you're back from a foreign country with a bolder and sexier look."

"It's really not that big of a deal, Hanna." Aria sighed, scribbling on her notebook.

"Then why are you doing it in the first place?" She continued. "Honestly, Aria, don't be the type of girl who falls for a good looking guy just because he's pretending to care about her so he can get in her pants."

She knew she should keep her mouth shut, but the frustration within her continued to build and Aria huffed out in anger, turning to her friend. "And what's your excuse then?" She asked sharply. "If I remember correctly Sean used to think you were a freak. You think that just magically changed over a year and he got to know the _real _you? No, he likes you because now you're skinny and have nice clothes and don't eat everything in sight."

As soon as the last part left her lips, Hanna's mouth dropped slightly in hurt, and a small amount of regret filled Aria's chest.

Letting out a breath of almost disgust, Hanna grabbed her backpack and binders and stood up, moving to a seat along the next aisle. She slammed her books down on the desk, creating a curtain with her hair to block out view of Aria completely.

Aria sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. If there was one thing she had gotten from Ali, it was her inability to shut her mouth when she was crossing a line. It tended to cause her to not only cross it, but practically erase the line entirely.

Class dragged on, and by the time the bell rang, Hanna was out of her seat and through the door before Aria could even stand up.

xxx

Standing in front of her mirror, Aria smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. She tilted her head to the side, trying to decide whether it fit the occasion or not.

Her phone buzzed on her dresser, and she picked it up, opening the new text message.

"_I miss you. _

_Come over tomorrow? – E"_

She smiled slightly, her fingers moving over her phone keys as she quickly typed a reply.

"_I miss you, too. Can't tomorrow, though. _

_How does a Saturday movie marathon sound?_

Before hitting send, her fingers hovered for a moment, trying to think of how to sign it off. He usually ended his messages with the simple '-E', but for her to do it the same way made her stomach churn.

She sighed, settling with '_Aria xoxo'_, before hitting send.

Turning back to the mirror, she gave the dress a final look before deciding it would work well for tomorrow. Her phone buzzed again.

"_Sounds like heaven. Can't wait. –E"_

She smiled and bit her lip at his response, tossing her phone onto her bed.

"You look nice." A voice came from behind her, and she looked in the mirror to see her mother standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. "What's the occasion?"

"Homecoming's tomorrow." Aria told her, walking into her bathroom for a moment to unzip and step out of the dress, hanging it on the back of her door before slipping on a sweatshirt and sleep shorts and walking back into the room.

Ella raised her eyebrows. "Who's the date?"

Aria shrugged. "It's not really a date. Just a friend."

Ella nodded, and Aria quickly caught the strange look on her face. "Is something wrong?"

Sighing, her mother moved further into the room to stand in front of her. "Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"

Aria's mood immediately soured, and her face dropped. "Yeah."

"I'm moving out tomorrow."

Stiffening up, Aria shook her head. "Do you still love dad at all?"

Ella hesitated for a moment, seeming to really think through the question before she responded. "A part of me will always love your father. But I need to leave because-"

"Because it's easier to walk away than to fight for what you really want." Aria finished, a tear betraying her and slipping down her face.

Ella shook her head, taking Aria's hands into her own. "You're young, sweetheart. There are… a lot of things that are going on here that are… just outside of your reach."

Aria shook her head, her anger flooding through her again as she ripped her hands out of her mother's. "Yeah well, this isn't one of them." She snapped, turning her back towards her and making herself busy with the clothes on her bed.

She could hear Ella sigh behind her and she locked her jaw, trying to stop anymore tears from falling from her eyes.

"I picked up some Chinese." Ella told her softly. "I'll leave it on your desk for you."

A few moments later she heard her door close gently, and she huffed, shoving all of her clothes of her bed to try and release some of her anger. She turned around, seeing her favorite chicken and soup sitting on her desk with a fortune cookie on top.

An idea came to her, and she shook her head at her naïve imagination, but walked forward to grab the fortune cookie in her hands anyways.

_Just one sign that something good will happen soon. _She thought as she ripped open the cookie, cracking it in half and pulling out the small slip of paper. _Anything._

Unfolding the paper in her hands, she took a deep breath to try and calm herself, swallowing hard before reading the words to herself.

A gasp immediately escaped her lips, and she tossed the paper onto the desk as if it had burned her, stepping backwards until she reached her bed. She shook her head, curling over onto her side and closing her eyes, her appetite suddenly gone.

She tried to relax herself and get her thoughts to stop spinning erratically in her head, but they kept focusing on the words they read on the paper five feet away from her.

_Liars tramps and bitches oh my! There's no place like Homecoming. See you there. -A_

**Author's Notes:**

**I suck. I really do. And I'm a terrible person for not updating this story fast enough. But I love all of you so much, and I'm honestly trying to find more time to write; I swear. I love writing it just as much as you love reading it!**

**Keep up the wonderful and glorious reviews; they're the one thing that makes me believe that sitting down to write this story has value. (Super cheesy line right there).**

**Next chapter: Homecoming!**

**Kiss Kiss Kiss.**


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